Sadiya Farouq, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, says the federal government has spent over N22.5 billion on National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) since its inception in Edo State.
The minister disclosed this in Benin during a thank you rally organised by Edo NSIP beneficiaries to appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari for improving their lives through the programmes.
She said, “The fund that we have injected in Edo State so far is more than N22,569,930,000,00.”
The Minister stated that 386,194 benefited from the various Social Investment Programmes which include N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme GEEP, National Home-Grown School Feeding (NHGSF), Grant for Rural Women, Grant for the Vulnerable Groups, among others.
Represented by Bello John, she said of the number 32,545 N-Power graduate beneficiaries on N30,000 monthly stipend and 3,905 N-Power non-graduate beneficiaries that were trained on various N-Skill programmes while 3,119 benefited from GEEP programmes in the state.
She explained that 342,295 poor and vulnerable Households of the beneficiaries are receiving N5,000 grant monthly while 1,566 and 2,764 benefited from Grant for Rural Women (GRW), and Grant for Vulnerable Groups respectively.
On her part, the Edo State Focal Person, Osayuwamen Aladeselu said the Edo State Government has created an enabling environment for the NPower programme and other social investment programmes to thrive by ensuring that relevant MDAs have structures in place for the Programmes.
“When Edobest was launched, N-Power beneficiaries were trained and given tablets to go and also teach in school and in 2021, the government gave awards to the best N-Power beneficiaries as well as automatic appointment.”