By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, today in Lagos State flagged off the verification of the National Social Register (NSR) in some South West communities namely Makoko,Oko Agbon, Adogbo, Migbewhe, Makoko, Sogunro and Apollo.
The verification exercise, which commenced simultaneously across the country is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, will last for three weeks, the ministry said.
During the exercise, the Minister was ferried in a canoe in a door to door verification of the register in remote riverine villages to ensure integrity.
Speaking shortly after the exercise, Edu said that it is an integrity test by President Tinubu to ensure the sincerity of citizens deserving the conditional cash transfer to assist in their businesses, education of their children, livelihood, and job creation.
She said those who were captured would be checked to know whether they deserved to be on the register or not, while areas that were left out will be covered.
“Federal government is going to put money into the households of Nigerians to assist them in terms of their businesses, livelihood, education, to be able to pay fees for their children, improve access to social services, subsidize their daily transportation costs, give them spending power to provide for basic health care needs, job creation etc.”
“For us to do this, we need to verify the National Social Register, the President has approved that we go down to the grassroots and ensure that the National Social Register is a true reflection of truly poor people.”
“We need to verify that people on the list live below one dollar 95 cents a day and are affected by multidimensional poverty and sincerely are those who need help; those who have no business being there should be removed those who need to be on the register should be included. ”
Speaking further, Edu said:”We are doing both community targeting and geographical targeting, we have noticed that certain areas of Oko Agbon, Adogbo, Migbewhe, Makoko, Sogunro and Apollo villages have been covered by NSR, while certain areas have not been captured, we will capture them.”
“The activities we will flag off here are being carried out across the country, working with states and communities. Our State Governors, will chair the steering committee at state while the Local Government Areas, and Community Leaders will be involved to get NSR with Integrity.”
We want to ensure that those who will be getting the money are those who truly require it with zero political social or personal interference, she said.
The new National Coordinator for the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Abdulaziz Danladi, promised that the Minister’s passion for her community-oriented job will be supported by all the foot soldiers.
Danladi said that strengthening the social safety nets and social protection system in the country was a core strategy to help end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.
He explained that the core mandate of NASSCO was to lay a strong foundation for rigorous and reliable evidence of poor and vulnerable households in Nigeria, which the Minister is championing.
The Minister, accompanied by the Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees migrants and IDPs, Mr. Aliyu Tijani Ahmed and Director General NAPTIP, Professor Fatima Waziri-Azi and the Minister’s team, who distributed food items and carried out expanded medical outreach in Makoko community in Lagos state.
