As controversy continues to greet the cash money transfer of the Federal Government, it has said that about 2.5 million people have benefited from it.
The timing and process of the poverty alleviation scheme have been faulted by some people, especially the opposition which regards it as a vote-buying plot.
Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday, carpeted Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for making a mockery of the scheme.
But, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Coordinator, National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Office of the Vice President, Mr. Apera Iorwa, said the programme was governed by genuine intention.
He said, “At the moment, we have developed the social register in 26 states of the federation. We have a total of 655,000 poor and vulnerable households made up of 2,590,000 individuals within that register. From there, we mine the beneficiaries for the cash transfer programme and other programmes of government.
“It is our hope that this year, setting the stage for next coming years, we would be in the 36 states of the federation. We will start with the first 30 per cent of the poorest local governments in each state, and gradually, we move to the other local governments. The plan is to ultimately saturate every community in Nigeria.
“The next two years will see us saturate and having presence in every community; giving all who are identified as poor and vulnerable the opportunity to access social intervention programmes that we are working on.
“The National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office is established by the Federal Government of Nigeria and bankrolled by credit from the World Bank; the World Bank also giving technical support in building the social register and social safety nets programme.
“This loan facility is beyond the current administration; the loan is till 2020. So, it’s beyond the current administration. The structure as we believe will go on, and regardless of the government, we know that the Federal Government is focused on Human Capital Development, which speaks a lot to social protection.”
He stressed that the Tradermoni programme was not a strategy for vote-buying as it has been alleged by opposition politicians.
“It is not vote-buying at all because it is increasing the capacity of people to do better in business and enhancing the income of the family.
“Some of the international delegates that are here from Ghana, South Africa and Malawi said it is difficult to believe that we started only two years ago,” he said.
I will increase minimum wage to N100,000
The Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Mr Omoyele Sowore, has promised to pay workers 100,000 as minimum wage if elected as the next president of the nation on Feb. 16.
The crisis over minimum wage has continued to linger in the country.
While workers are insisting on N30,000 across all tiers of government and sectors, the Council of State has okayed N30,000 for federal workers and N27,000 for state and private sector workers.
The Federal Government has transmitted the arrangement to the National Assembly.
But, speaking at a town hall meeting on ‘NTA’, Sowore promised to pay N100,000 as minimum wage.
At the programme organised by the MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with NTA and DARIA media, held in Abuja, he maintained that his administration would address the menace of ghost workers by installing technologies that would daily capture fingerprints of workers and the hours spent at work.
He also said that he would ensure leakages were effectively blocked and would enthrone proper management of resources in the country if elected.
The AAC presidential candidate said that his administration would ensure efficient collection of taxes, and that there would be no sacred cows.
He said most companies in Nigeria collected tax from workers but do not remit to the government, while others are under remitting.
