Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD) has trained 7,452 Independent Monitors to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the integrated National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) across the country.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, disclosed this at the inauguration of the training of 3,000 Stream 2 Independent Monitors of the NSIP at the weekend in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The minister, who was represented by her Special Assistant on Monitoring and Evaluation, Mrs. Bilikisu Dauda-Damisa, explained that the training and onboarding of Stream 2 Independent Monitors was kicked off on June 9, 2022, in Abuja.
She noted that the Stream l had 4,452 independent monitors trained and enrolled in February and March 2021, while Stream II had 3,000, totaling 7, 452 independent monitors across the country.
Umar-Farouq stated that the ministry had provided working tools in the form of tablets for them to carry out their monitoring activities on the field.
She said the NSIP was created by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 with the mandate to lift citizens out of poverty through a number of social interventions.
According to her, the NSIP include Job Creation-NPOWER; National Home-Grown School Feeding (NHGSFP); Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT); and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).
She said since NSIP commenced in 2016, over one million youths had been employed under Npower; two million beneficiaries under CCT; 10 million pupils under HGSFP, and 230,000 under the GEEP intervention programmes.
The minister said the independent monitors are responsible for monitoring the NSIPs in their various communities, in schools, households, and market clusters with the focus of ensuring that its primary objectives are achieved.
According to her, “Monitors are one of the most important components of the NSIP, and the ministry lays special emphasis to ensure its programmes are closely monitored. We have monitors in every local government area, where the NSIPs are being implemented.”
Umar-Farouq urged the independent monitors to work hand in hand with the state NSIP team, and cautioned them against intimidation or harassment of beneficiaries.
“Any independent monitor found intimidating or harassing a beneficiary will be taken off the programme. Be informed that we have officials of the
EFCC and DSS working with us on this programme, and those found culpable will be handed over to relevant authorities,” she said.
Earlier, the state Focal Person of NSIP, Mr. Suleiman Onyekehi, said the social intervention programmes had achieved a tremendous success in alleviating poverty in the state.
Onyekehi, who doubles as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Projects, said 177,000 out of the total 258,000 enrolled pupils from Primary 1 to 3 were currently being fed, and that over 3,000 cooks were recruited in the state.
He appealed to the federal government for improvement in budgetary allocation of N70 per child, saying inflation rate had rendered the N70 inadequate to feed a child.
He added that over 74,000 CCT beneficiaries are currently receiving N10, 000 each bi-monthly; over 26,000 Npower beneficiaries of both Batch C, Stream 1 and 2; and 7,000 shortlisted for disbursement under GEEP across the state.
