Social investment scheme: Lofty in design, poor in execution

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Nothing best illustrates the fact that all is not well with the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPSs) of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led

government than the recent condemnation of the Modified Home Grown School Feeding Programme, as well as last April’s spat between managers of the programme , and the leadership of the National Assembly over the initiative.

Also in the bouquet is the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme , a micro-lending intervention that targets traders, artisans, enterprising youth, farmers and women in particular, by providing loans between 10,000 and 100,000 at no monthly cost to beneficiaries. Despite the change in nature, the programme, which retained most of its nomenclature was to ensure that each household in the three pilot states receive a Take-Home Ration valued at N4, 200. A breakdown showed that 29, 609 households were targeted in FCT; 37, 589 in Lagos, and 60, 391 in Ogun states.

In April, just before the Modified Home Grown School Feeding Programme saga, the National Assembly summed up courage to speak truth to power, weeks after the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, had carpeted the NSIPs, describing it as a failure, especially in the Northern part of the country. “Concerning the N500bn voted for SIP, that was part of 2015 campaigns where they promised to give out N10, 000, feed pupils in primary schools and give N5, 000 to the poorest of the poorer,” she said adding that “the SSA to the president on social investment is a lady from Kano and I’m sure that my husband decided to put somebody from Kano because of the population and political impact it made. I have never asked how the money is being used, or is being given out.

Soon after Mrs. Buhari spoke, Uwais told the first lady that her lack of knowledge of how NSIP works led her to the conclusion that it was not working, adding that had the first lady had access to data, her position would have been different.She said contrary to Aisha Buhari’s claim, about 290, 000 persons have benefitted from the NSIPs in Adamawa State.

“We feel that we need to work together with you to ensure that there is effectiveness, there is efficiency, that those who are supposed to benefit, benefit directly.” “The monies released for the N-SIPs can be further broken down into 14.03 per cent ; 35 per cent in 2017; 43.5 per cent in 2018 and 57.8 per cent of the N500b in 2016 and N400b appropriated for the subsequent years. It should be noted that for 2017 to 2020, the sum of N100b was appropriated specifically for the National Housing Fund hosted by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“We also believe that it is time to reform the way and manner we implement the Social Investment Programme. This is a very important programme that is to help Nigerians who are poor and vulnerable. We believe that, having implemented this programme from 2016 to date, it should be reviewed to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency with which we have been implementing this programme.”

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