Govt to review Social Investment Programme

Faith Yahaya, Abuja

THE Federal Government has said it will review its National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) to ensure transparent and judicious application of resources.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development broke the news in a statement by its Assistant Director of Information, Rhoda Iliya.

The ministry explained that the review would ensure that resources do not end up in the wrong hands.

According to the ministry, the implementation of the programme currently costs the government billions of naira annually.

On how the review would be carried out, the statement said: “All present processes, especially beneficiary enrolment and payments, including for consultancies, are being scrutinised and stakeholders are being consulted for inputs that will lead to the total overhaul of the programmes to achieve the purposes for which they were established.

“The ministry will place all transactions under the microscope to ensure that the massive resources, which the present administration is channelling to place in the hands of the most vulnerable groups in the country, reach them instead of ending in the pockets of middlemen or double-dealers, who while receiving payments from the specific programmes also, take up other paid jobs.

“It is hereby emphasised that the ministry is determined to give maximum effect to the laudable decision of the government to institutionalise the NSIPs, the implementation of which is costing the government billions of Naira annually.”

The statement said the ministry was working to ensure that the beneficiaries of all NSIPs designed to be exited after specified periods would be prepared and exited through the best of the options presently under consideration by the government.

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The ministry, which acknowledged that the review would delay the implementation of the programme, called for patience and understanding among stakeholders.

“The ministry acknowledges that this effort to overhaul the programmes may temporarily slow down the tempo of implementation and will certainly not go down well with vested interests sure to be frustrated with the new direction, and who may, therefore, resort to the use of traditional and new media as well as misdirected public advocacy to distract government and derail the process.

“The ministry is, therefore, appealing for maximum understanding and cooperation of all stakeholders and appeals to any misinformed members of the public to desist from actions that may distract the Ministry from discharging this important national mandate or even delay the implementation of these life-changing programmes.”

It also pledged to continue to render services to Nigerians in humanitarian situations effectively and deliver relief to those affected by disasters.

“We will continue to implement policies that drive social development and facilitate economic inclusion for the benefit of the most vulnerable in the country especially through the N-Power, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfer, as well as the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme and other programmes, rolled out by the present administration.”