‘Most Of The People In The National Social Register Are Not Known To Any Political Person’ – FG

The National Coordinator, National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) Hajiya Halima Shehu has assured Nigerians of the transparency of the schemes under her watch.

Speaking in Abuja on Sunday during a press conference, she said the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme was designed with poor Nigerians in mind and targeted at giving them a better life through the proper allocation of the 800 million dollar World Bank fund.

According to her, the CCT programme has no political undertone and can’t be influenced for selfish political reasons as it is under the supervision of the World Bank.

Shehu added that the distribution of the fund is to people captured in the National Social Register who are either rural poor, or urban poor.

She assured that those getting the cash transfers are Nigerians who deserve it, adding that the list is not politically influenced.

The NSIPA coordinator added that the agency would play its role in poverty alleviation under President Bola Tibubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.

“So, a collection of 36 states and FCT social register makes up the National Social Register.

“Most people in the National Social Register are either rural poor, or urban poor. So, the office that is charged with the delivery of this cash, which is the National Cash Transfer Office mines the beneficiaries out of the social register.

“Most of the people in the National Social Register are not known to any political person. They are Nigerians that deserve to benefit from the grant and that is why no list is being collected by anybody,” she said.

Shehu added that all enrollees on the social register have a bank account and plans are underway to allocate National Identity Number (NIN) to all the beneficiaries as part of measures to strengthen the transparency and accountability process.

She listed poverty alleviation programmes under the agency to include the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which has components such as TraderMoni, FarmerMoni, and MarketMoni.