The Federal
Government yesterday said it had developed national social register,
covering 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the
moment, using computer aiding devices...
National Coordinator of the National
Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Peter Papka, made the
disclosure at the opening ceremony of the training of community-based
targeting team members in Abuja.
Papka, who reaffirmed government’s
determination to implement the social investment programme, lamented
that government officials had taken advantage of the poverty situation,
using it as a means of patronage.
“One of the fundamental reasons
government has been spending a lot on poverty reduction, and yet poverty
is not reducing, is because those in the government office and
political class use it as means of patronage, and that needs to be
addressed to avoid further waste of money.
“There doesn’t seem to be any avenue that
provides for the coordination of some of these programs, particularly
within the context of the methods being used to target the poor, even
with the several interventions going on in the country,” he stated
Also speaking, FCT Minister, Mohammad
Bello, said 6,464 volunteers from the territory have been enrolled in
the N-power programme and effectively deployed to agencies of government
in the areas of education, health and agriculture.
Regarding the N5,000 stipend to the
poorest of the poor, the minister said: “Out of six area councils in the
FCT, Abaji, Kwali and Kuje have been selected according to the poverty
ranking of the FCT, as first entry point. The next round of the Area
Councils will commence until complete state enumeration is covered.”
He said the FCT also benefits from the
school feeding programme for primary school children as well as the
enterprise and empowerment programmes of the federal government.
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