The National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Hajia Halima Shehu, on Saturday, assured Nigerians and the international community of her resolve to ensure accountability and transparency during the implementation of the £800 million World Bank Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) to the poorest of the poor Nigerians across the country.
Hajia Shehu, who gave the assurance in Abuja while giving an update on the role of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency in poverty alleviation under the renewed agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pledged the Agency’s resolve to ensure.
She explained that: “It’s a fully funded project by the World Bank. We’re working with £800 million, the World Bank funds.
“About the beneficiaries and how they are sourced, there is a National Social Register; it’s a collection of State social registers; all the 36 States and the FCT are participants. So, a collection of 36 States and FCT Social Register makes up the National Social Register.
“Most people in the National Social Register are either rural poor or urban poor. So, the office that is charged with the delivery of this cash, which is the National Cash Transfer Office, mines the beneficiaries out of the Social Register.
“Most of the people in the National Social Register are not known to any political person. They are Nigerians that deserve to benefit from the grant, and that is why no list is being collected by anybody,” she noted.
She maintained that “both the Rapid Response Register and the National Social Register cannot be influenced by any other person outside the key people who have structured the programme and who are supervising the programmes, which is the World Bank.”
Hajia Shehu, who assured that the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme has been fully digitized, affirmed that the scheme is being implemented across the country, adding that everybody on the Social Register has a bank account and that plans are underway to allocate National Identity Number (NIN) to all the beneficiaries as part of measures to “strengthen the transparency and accountability process.”
While noting that the NSIPA Act was signed into law in May 2023 with a specific assignment, she observed that as the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, she has been “saddled with the responsibility to implement, coordinate all programmes under the Agency as clearly stated by the Establishment Act.
“The Agency has been saddled with the responsibility to assist, empower, uplift numerous Nigerians out of poverty by assisting and empowering and restoring the livelihood of poor and vulnerable Nigerians. We are far from any kind of danger ahead of us.
“The poverty alleviation programmes under the Agency are: Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme known as GEEP, which has components of TraderMoni, FarmerMoni, and MarketMoni, and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, which is aimed at feeding Primary 1 to 3 Pupils in public school.
“The Conditional Cash Transfer Programme which targets the poorest of the poor in the country. And the unconditional Cash Transfer Programme which is known as the Grant for Vulnerable Groups, it targets mostly the physically challenged and Senior Citizens, amongst others.
“There is an Alternate School Programme that targets out-of-school and at-risk children. The Agency’s activities are designed to harmonise, synergise, institutionalise, as well as provide coordination on the social intervention programmes in the UK, through partnership with both national and international Development Partners. Through harmonisation, we’ll be able to fast track economic development and improve the standard of living of those at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid in the UK.
“Upon resumption of office two months ago, my team and I have been working around the clock to ensure that we do not leave any stone unturned in our fight against poverty, as directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Under my watch, we have successfully kick-started the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme funded by the World Bank with a £25,000 monthly stipend for three months, and we are targeting 15 million households.
“Beneficiaries so far have been benefiting from this grant to the tune of 1.5 million. We have also flagged-off the grant for Vulnerable Groups, which is a £20,000 one-off grant that targets a high percentage of Persons Living with Disabilities, Senior Citizens, amongst others. Both grants are targeted at smoothening consumption and cushioning the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.”
While giving an update on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) scheme, Hajia Shehu disclosed that 10.420 million Primary 1 to 3 Pupils in Public Schools are so far benefiting from the scheme across the country, while plans are underway to review the amount allocated for the programme in line with current economic realities.
Hajia Shehu assured that the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme will “resume as soon as school resumes with an expansion to feed out-of-school children, especially the Almajiri School, and they will also be enrolled in our skill empowerment and cash grant programmes. This is done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
“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 NSIPA Accounting Officer noted.
While speaking on the N-Power programme under the current dispensation, Hajia Shehu disclosed that “Government is working towards an exit strategy for the existing N-Power beneficiaries. And as soon as that is done, a portal will be opened for the enrollment of Batch D beneficiaries of N-Power on different components, which are the N-Skills, N-Outgrow, N-Tech, N-Creative, N-Build, amongst others.
“There is no doubt that the National Social Investment Programme Agency is saddled with the responsibility to impact on the lives of millions of poor and vulnerable Nigerians, which makes the Agency stand out as the human face of this administration. And we are committed, we are very much aware of the responsibilities and the tasks ahead of us. We remain committed to our fight against poverty, and we hope to surpass Mr. President’s expectations and the expectations of the people at large,” she stressed.
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