Over 753,307 graduates have already applied for the N-Power recruitment in five days, exceeding the number of graduate and non-graduate applicants in 2016 by 2307.
This information was made available by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job creation, Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, when he addressed newsmen in Asaba, Delta, on Sunday describing the figure as a landmark.
He disclosed that the figure for 2017 was generated barely five days after the application was opened on June 14, while the applications for the previous year were got during the two and half months it was opened.
The SSA said that N-Teach got the highest applications so far with 470,456 while N-Agro, the Agriculture extension section of the scheme followed with 127,315.
According to him, N-Health generated 85,691 applications, while the latest component, the N-Tax, generated 69,842 applications in five days.
Imoukhuede said that in 2016 the total graduate applicants were 350,000 being less than 50 per cent of the applications already received in less than one week of entries for 2017.
He said the reason for the large number of applications might be because “a lot of graduates now have faith in the scheme unlike last year when many were a bit skeptical and refused to apply.’’
He said that in spite of the number, the Federal Government would restrict itself to the recruitment of 300,000 graduates in the current scheme in order not to exceed the programme’s budget for the period.
Imoukhuede also said that the selection process would maintain same transparency as in 2016 and expressed gratitude that the hiccup in 2016 registration was completely absent in 2017.
The 2017 applications, which opened on June 14 will last through July 13.
