The federal government has begun the process of overhauling the N-Power scheme, school feeding programme and other National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs).
This development was communicated by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. It noted that the overhaul is to ensure maximum transparency, greater efficiency and more prudent application of resources.
According to a statement by Rhoda Ishaku Iliya, the ministry’s Assistant Director (Information), the process of overhauling the programmes will involve observing and enforcing due diligence in the NSIP processes to ensure full compliance with extant regulations and best practices in public sector financial transactions.
“To that effect, 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 in order to achieve the purposes for which they were established,” she stated.
She also announced that 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 government to institutionalize the NSIPs, the implementation of which is costing the government billions of Naira annually.
“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.”
