Abstract

This paper examined the effect of N-Power Scheme on poverty reduction in Kwara State. A Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select two hundred and sixty-four (264) respondents across five (5) local government areas in Kwara State. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and analysed with descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages and mean and Pearson product moment correlation. The mean age of the respondents was 28.5 years while 53% of them were males. The results revealed that N-power Teach (x?= 3.95), N-power Agro (x? = 3.72), N-power Build (x?= 3.34), N-power Health (x? = 3.31) and N-power Tech (x? = 3.23) were the major activities of the scheme that contributed to poverty reduction in the study area. The major challenges encountered by beneficiaries were Late payment of stipends (x?= 3.07), Insufficient information (x?= 2.91), Short lifespan of the programme (x? = 2.76), Political interference (x? = 2.73), and Website and internet hiccups (x? = 2.62). The study concluded that N-power scheme has contributed to poverty reduction in the study area. Reduced political interference will go a long way in ensuring the efficiency of the programme.

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