…$500m credit at risk if existing process is violated by politicians
The presidency has said that the inability of certain members of the National Assembly to include their candidates to be beneficiaries for the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) is largely why the programme has come under attack by Senate President, Sen. Ahmed Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
The Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Hajiya Maryam Uwais said this in a statement released in response to the recent attacks on the operations of the NSIP attributed to both the Senate President and the Speaker, recently in the media.
Addressing issues raised by the lawmakers about the NSIPs, and especially the selection of beneficiaries, Hajiya Uwais said “the demand for the inclusion of candidates to the NSR from the NASS has been a recurring issue from the inception of the NSIPs.
Uwais said it was necessary to clarify the issues in the public domain because of the gravity and implications of the narrative conveyed, as well as the calibre of persons involved.
The programmes under the NSIPs include the Conditional Cash Transfer aimed at providing a safety net for the poorest households; The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) targeted at delivering a cost-effective home grown school feeding programme with a specific focus on increasing school enrolment and the N-Power Programme for jobless graduates. There is also the Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, such as MarketMoni, which provides affordable loans to petty traders.
NASS’s Criticism
The leadership of NASS recently faulted the implementation of the Social Investment Programme and called for an enabling legislation in line with global best practices.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila made their reservations about the scheme at a meeting held on Tuesday with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq and some top officials of the Ministry.
Lawan and Gbajabiamila said the Social Investment Programme needed a reform to make it more efficient and effective, stressing that the poorest of the poor have not been sufficiently captured by the programme..
The meeting convened by the leadership of the National Assembly against the backdrop of the ongoing Federal Government intervention initiatives, was aimed at assuaging the plight of the vulnerable Nigerians against COVID-19 pandemic.
Daily Trust reports that Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, also faulted the Federal Government’s palliative measures in containing the spread of coronavirus in the state.
Presidency fires back
Uwais said it was untrue that the National Social Investment Programme had gulped over N2 trillion since 2016, when the fund was created.
“Although the total appropriation by the National Assembly (NASS) from inception, for the 4 NSIPs, is N1.7 trillion, the actual funds released for the NSIPs between January 2016 and October 2019 (when the NSIPs were handed over to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development), amounted to N619.1 billion, constituting 36.4% of the total appropriation from the NASS,” she added.
She also described as untrue the notion that as part of the conditions for poor and vulnerable beneficiaries to be engaged, they are made to apply online, through the internet and they require a BVN for payment.
She said the National Cash Transfer Programme derives all the cash transfer beneficiaries from a National Social Register (NSR), comprising State Social Registers that are developed and hosted by the State Ministries of Planning of each State.
“As at March 31st 2020, the NSR comprised 11,045,537 individuals from 2,644,495 households, collated from 35 States, 453 LGAs, 47,698 communities. Each and every beneficiary has a generated unique number and can be tracked,” she also said.
The presidential aide said the assertion by the leadership of the Senate that the NSIP information was not accessible to the National Assembly was untrue.
The statement read: “It is, however, on record that all invitations to public hearings and meeting by the NASS were honoured by myself (as the supervisor of the NSIPs) and the cluster teams, while documents relating to the structure, activities and progress of the NSIPs were routinely shared with them, over the period that the NSIO supervised the NSIPs under the auspices of the Office of the Vice President (OVP)…
“It was further asserted, apparently, that because the beneficiaries are not known personally to the NASS members, the National Social Register is a ‘scam’ and needs to be reformed through a process that is ‘more inclusive’ of the NASS.
“The NSR comprises persons selected by the communities directly, within the constituencies of each of the NASS members. No person has been imported from one community to the other. They have been identified as very poor by the communities in which they reside and may not necessarily be known by the lawmakers. Verification of their identity and status is possible, as has been for all investigative journalists and monitors, through the CTFs.
“It should be noted that Nigeria has signed a Financing Agreement with the World Bank, in which the process of identification of beneficiaries was set out. Any departure from the process, which would place at risk the accessibility to the IDA Credit and the recovered funds from the Abacha family.
“The demand for the inclusion of candidates to the NSR from the NASS has been a recurring issue from the inception of the NSIPs. My role and singular focus has simply been to comply with the terms of Agreement and the MoU entered into by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as well as to establish an objective, efficient and transparent process for uplifting the poor out of poverty through structures and mechanisms that are credible and sustainable. I have consistently reminded both NASS Committee Chairmen on Poverty Alleviation that there is no social protection programme in the world in which politicians are responsible for selecting the beneficiaries of cash transfers”
The statement added: “The NSIPs have been handed over to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs since October 2019, but it has become necessary to respond to the unfortunate allegations made at the National Assembly on the 7th of April 2020, which allegations were made in respect of certain aspects of the NSIPs from inception in November 2015 to September 2019.
“This response is necessary for the purpose of: i) Safeguarding the entitlements of the poorest of Nigerian citizens, whose benefits are likely to cease because they are not known or connected to NASS members or any other person of influence;
ii) Protecting the integrity of the NSR, which development has been a painstaking process over the past 4 years, along with the huge investment and effort expended on data that is critical for development and poverty analysis; and
iii) Ensuring compliance with the World Bank Financing Agreement (FA) signed by Nigeria and the World Bank, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria, the Swiss Government and the World Bank, to facilitate the return of the funds recovered from the Abacha family. Disregarding the process set out in the F.A would risk the suspension of the utilization of the IDA Credit and the recovered funds for the cash transfer beneficiaries. That balance which is currently over $500m, would be placed at risk. In the current Nigerian situation, we cannot afford to lose such a huge amount of resources that have been provided to support the poorest of the poor out of poverty.
“This Statement is prepared to set the records straight on certain aspects of the processes, structure and activities of the NSIPs between November 2015 and September 2019 when I supervised the NSIO operations. Having handed over the NSIPs in October 2019, I assume no responsibility for the operations thereafter as the Ministry is well positioned to handle the NSIPs and take decisions thereupon.
