The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Faruk reaffirmed that the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) was designed by the Federal Government to specially and effectively give a lifting hand to the poorest and vulnerable citizens in the country.
The Ministry disclosed this in her speech delivered at the flag-off of the Federal Government cash grant to Vulnerable groups and the onboarding of the Independent Monitors Stream two (2) at manpower development institute Dutse, Jigawa state.
According to her “this effort is a clear demonstration of our collective commitment to addressing poverty which today is the core developmental challenge confronting us as a people.
“Let me state here that since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in 2015, when it inherited a national poverty incidence level averaging 70%, the Federal Government has paid more attention to generating solutions to address the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country despite other economic challenges the administration inherited.
“This informed the decision to initiate the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) as a strategy for poverty reduction and enhancing social inclusion among our people especially Women in rural areas.”
She maintained that the NSIP has been acclaimed by many to be the largest and most ambitious social protection programme in Africa, and it’s currently attracting many partnerships with even international development partners
“Since the introduction of NSIP in 2016, it has impacted positively on the lives of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria.”
Faruk further stated that the federal government target in Jigawa State is to disburse the grant to 4,537 beneficiaries across the 27 Local Government Areas, “this is In line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s social inclusion, 70% of the total number of beneficiaries is for women while the remaining 30% is for the youths”
She added that this is in addition to about 15% of the total number of beneficiaries being specifically allocated to the segment of the population with special needs, including Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens in the state.
The minister called on the Jigawa State governor to emulate this gesture and extend similar interventions to promote social inclusion in its policies, programmes and projects.
“It is our belief that the cash grant we came to disburse today is expected to increase income and productive assets of target beneficiaries, especially now that economic challenges at global and local levels affect the socio-economic situation of our people”, she emphasised.
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