The poor implementation of Social Investment Programme has led to how the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila queried the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
Lawan and Gbajabiamila spoke when they met with the Minister, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq and some top officials of the ministry.
The Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker lamented that the fund had failed to reach those for who it was created.
The National Assembly presiding officers called for the immediate review of the implementation of the fund for it to achieve its intended purpose.
Social Investment Programme
According to a statement by the Special Adviser (Media) to the Senate President, Ola Awoniyi, in Abuja, the meeting was attended by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase and some other principal officers and members from both chambers.
The Senate President said the National Assembly is concerned about the conditions and guidelines for the Social Investment programme which are specifically directed at the most vulnerable Nigerians.
Lawan said the poorest of the poor have not been sufficiently captured by the programme.
“We believe that when we work together, the Executive side of government and the National Assembly as representatives of the people, we will be able to reach much more of these people who are in serious distress even before the Coronavirus.
“Now with Coronavirus, they need our attention more than ever before. The time has come that we review the ways and manner we use to deliver the services under the SIP to Nigerians.
“We need to be better in terms of strategy for delivery and definitely, what we have been doing in the past cannot deliver exactly what will solve the challenges of the most ordinary and most vulnerable Nigerians.
“So we need to put on our thinking cap and work out some strategies on how to identify the poorest persons in Nigeria. I think we have not been able to reach far out there to get them properly captured,” Lawan said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gbajabiamila, told the minister that she is right now in the eye of the storm because all eyes are on her.
“Your job right now is probably the most important as we speak, because you are saddled with the responsibility of alleviating ‘poverty’ or the hardship, due to no fault of anyone, being thrust upon Nigerians.
The Soacial Investment Programme has gulped over N2 trillion since 2016 when the special intervention fund was created as an annual budgetary allocation targeted at the poor.
The sum of N500 billion was provided in the budget every year since 2016.
Also, in the 2020 budget, the sum of N500 billion was voted for the Social Investment Porgramme.
