Nigeria’s federal government has claimed that 1,940,004 vulnerable Nigerians are currently receiving N5,000 cash gift each every month.
Hajia Sadiya Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, stated this at a One-Day Stakeholders’ Retreat On National Social Investment (Establishment) Bill organised by the Senate Committee On Social Duties.
Farouq who was represented on the occasion by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Nasir Gwarzo, explained that the objective of the National Social Investment Programme Establishment Bill was to provide a statutory and institutional framework for the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme.
According to her, the NSIP was created in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari to address social and economic inequalities and alleviate poverty among Nigerians.
She said, “Since the inception of the NSIP in 2015, one million youths have been empowered through the N-Power Programme and additional 500,000 others are currently undergoing various forms of training under the programme as approved by the President.
“The cash transfer has enrolled 1,975,381 poor and vulnerable households from the National Social Register into a National Beneficiary Register. The NBR alone has 9, 841, 700 household individuals in the 36 states of the federation.
“The Cash Transfer supports the poor and vulnerable to improve consumption and develop savings skills to reduce the poverty line and build their resilience to withstand shocks.
“A total of 1, 940, 004 beneficiaries are currently receiving cash transfers each month. Public Primary Schools across the country have witnessed an unprecedented number of new enrollment as a result of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.
The programme is currently feeding 10 million pupils in over 66, 000 public schools across Nigeria. The programme is gradually reducing cases of out-of-school children nationwide.”
Furthermore, the minister said 2, 653, 333 beneficiaries had accessed the GEEP loans under three categories including Trader Moni, Market Moni and Farmer Moni.
“A total of 1, 142, 783 individuals across the country have registered to benefit from the second round of GEEP under the three loan programmes,” she added.
The Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Yusuf Yusuf, explained that the retreat was aimed at bringing together, critical stakeholders from the executive arm of government to be at par with the legislature on the proposed legislation.
Yusuf said, “Information is a very important tool for legislation. Since the government policies emanate from legislation, we invited critical stakeholders from the ministry and other agencies so that they can furnish the committee with vital information that would enable them to come up with robust legislation for the NSIP establishment,” he said.