Conditional Cash Transfer 25th December Update: Shehu assures Nigerians that conditional cash transfers won’t be compromised
Conditional Cash Transfer 25th December Update: Shehu assures Nigerians that conditional cash transfers won’t be compromised
Conditional Cash Transfer 25th December Update: Hajia Halima Shehu, the National Coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) gave assurances to Nigerians and the global community on Saturday regarding her commitment to maintaining accountability and transparency in the course of implementing the £800 million World Bank Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) to the most impoverished Nigerians nationwide.
Hajia Shehu promised the Agency’s resolve to ensure when she provided the assurance in Abuja while providing an update on the National Social Investment Programs Agency’s involvement in reducing poverty under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reinvigorated agenda.
She clarified, saying, “The World Bank has fully sponsored this project. The World Bank has provided us with £800 million to work with.
Regarding beneficiaries and their sourcing, all 36 States as well as the Federal Capital Territory are participants in the National Social Register, which is an amalgam of State social registers. Thus, the National Social Register is comprised of the FCT Social Register and the 36 States.
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“Most individuals in the National Social Register are impoverished in both rural and urban areas. Therefore, the National Cash Transfer Office, which is in charge of delivering this money, extracts the beneficiaries from the Social Register.
“No politician knows who the majority of the individuals listed in the National Social Register are. No list is being compiled by anyone since they are Nigerians who ought to receive the grant, the speaker stated.
She insisted that “nobody outside the key players who have structured the program and who are supervising the programs, which is the World Bank, can influence either the Rapid Response Register or the National Social Register.“
The Conditional Cash Transfer Program is being implemented nationwide, according to Hajia Shehu, who also confirmed that the program has been fully digitalized. She also stated that all beneficiaries have bank accounts and that plans are in place to assign National Identity Numbers (NINs) to each beneficiary as part of efforts to “strengthen the transparency and accountability process.“
As the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, she has been “saddled with the responsibility to implement, coordinate all programs under the Agency as clearly stated by the Establishment Act,” she noted, even though the NSIPA Act was signed into law in May 2023 with a specific assignment.
The Agency has been tasked with helping, empowering, and lifting a large number of Nigerians out of poverty by supporting, empowering, and re-establishing their means of subsistence. There is not a single threat in our path.
“The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, or GEEP, which consists of TraderMoni, FarmerMoni, and MarketMoni, and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, which aims to feed Primary 1 to 3 Pupils in public schools, are the poverty alleviation programs under the Agency.
The nation’s lowest of the poor are the focus of the Conditional Cash Transfer Program. Additionally, the Grant for Vulnerable Groups, often known as the Unconditional Cash Transfer Programme, primarily targets senior citizens and those with physical disabilities.
Children who are at-risk and not enrolled in school are the focus of an alternate school program. Through collaboration with both domestic and foreign Development Partners, the Agency’s operations are intended to harmonize, synergize, institutionalize, and offer coordination on the social intervention programs in the UK. We will be able to accelerate economic growth and raise the living standards of people in the UK who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid by implementing harmonization.
“As instructed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my staff and I have been working nonstop since taking office two months ago to make sure we don’t miss any opportunities in the battle against poverty.
“Under my direction, we have effectively launched the World Bank-funded Conditional Cash Transfer Program, which will target 15 million people and provide a £25,000 monthly stipend for three months.
Beneficiaries have received 1.5 million in benefits from this grant thus far. We have also designated the £20,000 one-time funding for Vulnerable Groups, which focuses on a large proportion of senior citizens and those with disabilities, among other groups. The goals of both awards are to moderate consumption and lessen the impact of the elimination of gasoline subsidies.
Hajia Shehu provided an update on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) program, revealing that 10.420 million Primary 1 to 3 students in public schools nationwide have benefited from it thus far. Plans are also in place to review the program’s funding allocation in light of the nation’s current economic situation.
In addition to expanding to feed out-of-school children, particularly those attending Almajiri School, Hajia Shehu promised that the National Home-Grown School Feeding Program will “resume as soon as school resumes with an enrollment in our skill empowerment and cash grant programs.” In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, this is carried out.
The NSIPA Accounting Officer stated, “This employment scheme under the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ will assist at-risk children and out-of-school children to earn a means of livelihood.”
The government is working toward an exit strategy for the present N-Power recipients, Hajia Shehu revealed during her speech on the N-Power program under the current administration. As soon as that is finished, a portal will be available for Batch D beneficiaries of N-Power to enroll in several components, including N-Skills, N-Outgrow, N-Tech, N-Creative, and N-Build.
The National Social Investment Programme Agency is unquestionably tasked with improving the lives of millions of underprivileged Nigerians, which distinguishes the Agency as the administration’s human face. We also have a strong commitment and a clear understanding of the duties and responsibilities that lie ahead of us. We’re still devoted to fighting poverty, and we want to go above and beyond what the President and the general public have expected of us,” she said.
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