FG’s cash transfer: 33,348 households benefit in Kogi

HEAD of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Unit in Kogi, Mrs Falilat Abdulrazaq, said a total of 33, 348 indigent households are now benefitting from the Federal Government’s CCT under it’s Household Uplifting Programme (HUP).

Abdulrazaq disclosed this at a three-day ”Savings and Group Mobilisation (SGM) Step-down Training”, organised for 76 newly selected Cash Transfer Facilitators (CTFs) from seven out of the 21 LGAs of Kogi State.

She said that additional data of 21, 892 new CT beneficiaries had been added to the existing 11, 456 to make a total of 33, 348 beneficiaries across the 21 LGAs of Kogi.

”As you are all aware that the CCT program is already covering all the 21 LGAs of Kogi, in which 11, 456 beneficiaries received N10, 000 from the federal government every two-months.

”But due to the additional data, a total of 33, 348 CT beneficiaries across the 21 LGAs of Kogi, will now be paid N10, 000 this month for both September and October bi-monthly payment. The essence of bimonthly payment is to make the money to be substantial for the beneficiaries.

”This implies that we would need more hands at the LGA level, so this training that is being conducted today is for the newly selected CTFs from seven LGAs that will be added to the existing CTFs”, she said.

According to her, the seven LGAs are Okene, Adavi, Kabba/Bunu, Lokoja, Dekina, Ofu and Ibaji LGAs.

She noted that the Community Based Targeting System being used to harvest the beneficiaries from communities and LGAs, were carried out in phases by the state office coordinating unit, saying ”this are the first set of LGAs coming on board in the second round.”

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She said the training, tagged: ”SGM” training, was designed to improve CT beneficiaries’ knowledge and skills in saving and group mobilisation, as well as group formation and management.

She stressed that the objectives were for the beneficiaries to understand the importance and processes of savings; adopt a positive attitude for saving culture; and mobilise their economic assets to improve their economic status.

”We also expect the beneficiaries to form themselves into a saving group inform of cooperatives or association where they could decide whatever mode of savings that is convenient for them.

”The CTFs are being trained to go back to their communities and cascade the acquired knowledge and skills to the beneficiaries at their various wards,” she said.

She commended the support the unit had been receiving from the State and Local governments while appealing for more support especially from the local governments.

She enjoined the CTFs to go back to their various communities and play their roles while warning them against extorting money from the beneficiaries.

She, however, advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money, saying it was not meant for frivolities but for them and their households so as to improve their consumption.

One of the Master Trainers, Mr Peter Popoola, said the aim of the training was to help the beneficiaries to develop their enterprises and expand their existing businesses for the benefits of themselves and their households so as to sustain their existing livelihood.

”We are impressed by the responses we are getting from the trainees for the three-day training,” he said.

Some of the CTFs, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, Mr Ojo Sunday and Mrs Salamat Yahaya, from Dekina, Kabba/Bunu and Okene LGAs respectively, said that they had acquired knowledge and skills in course of the training to be able to cascade same to the beneficiaries at the grassroots.