By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has called for cooperation of all stakeholders to achieve it’s mandate on the National Social Investment Programme.
The minister made this request at a 2-day stakeholders’ forum on Define Social Protection Floors in Suleja.
This was contained in a press release signed by Grace Osuji Principal Information Officer of the ministry made available to Daybreak today.
Represented by the Acting Director of Social Development Department, Mansur Kulliyah, the Minister said, “the Ministry is therefore appealing for maximum understanding and cooperation of all stakeholders and appeals to all 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.”
She said, “the Social protection can be viewed broadly as all public and private initiatives that provides income or consumption transfers to the poor, protect the vulnerable against destitution, and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalized with the overall objective of reducing the economic and social vulnerability of the poor and the marginalized groups.”
“The Ministry and its agencies will continue to render services to Nigerians in humanitarian situations effectively, and implement policies that will drive Social Development and facilitate economic inclusion for the benefit of the most vulnerable in the country especially through the N-power, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfer as well as the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme and other programmes rolled out by the present administration.”
She asked stakeholders to continue in their support of the institutional coordination mechanisms by facilitating inter-sectorial working relationship and assured participants at the forum that the Ministry is committed to ensuring that the strategic objectives of all the social intervention programs are achieved.
Engr. Umar Bindir, National Coordinator NSIP in his presentation said that the number one challenge in the country is poverty which can be tackled through education and transfer of knowledge. He proposed that our Universities must change to become production and entrepreneurship centers. He said that, “Social protection is about moving knowledge to the people as a tool to solving their problems.”
He disclosed that all NSIP programmes will be centrally coordinated and monitored with a view to making the overall impacts transparently felt by all Nigerians.
Mr. Obadaru E. Gbenga, Deputy Director Population and Development Department, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning disclosed that, the Ministry of Budget and National Planning is in the process of finalizing the review of the draft National Social Protection Policy.
Gbenga said that the Technical Working Group meeting (TWG) is working towards drafting a review of National Social Protection Policy (NSPP).
