Osun State Governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, on Wednesday, inaugurated independent monitors of National Social Investment Programmes in the State.
He also distributed letters of engagement and devices to the independent monitors.
This is even as the Governor said his Administration was irrevocably committed to meeting citizens’ needs particularly the vulnerable people in the State.
While inaugurating the Independent monitors at the Staff Development Centre, State Government Secretariat, Abere, Osogbo, Governor Oyetola said the Administration had earned several accolades for its exceptional and outstanding performance on social intervention programmes implementation.
He stated that the State had shown consistency in the implementation of a wide array of social protection programmes which according to him, have continued to impact significantly on the lives of the citizens.
Oyetola who was represented at the inauguration ceremony by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji, further noted that the Administration’s relentless efforts in the last two and half years had earned it the pride of place as a leading State on the Human Development Index.
“As a State, we are irrevocably committed to ensuring that our vulnerable citizens are duly supported. You will recall that our State has over the last one decade shown consistency in our implementation of a wide array of Social Protection Programmes which continues to impact very significantly on the lives of our citizens and has earned us the pride of place as a leading State on the Human Development Index.
“Only recently, we commenced the feeding of 30, 000 persons who are poor and are vulnerable on a monthly basis, as part of our own unique way of cushioning the effect of the current economic challenges on the poor and vulnerable in our State,” Oyetola said.
The governor lauded President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiyah Umar Farouq for their sustained passion and commitment that have ensured the success of the National Social Investment Programmes.
According to him, it is on record that the wide array of the Social Investment Programmes under the Buhari-led Administration, covering the N-Power Graduate and Non Graduate Scheme for Youths; the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, involving primaries 1-3 pupils; Conditional Cash Transfer with N5, 000 per month paid to beneficiaries and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (Market moni, trader moni, and Farmer moni), are the largest and perhaps the most ambitious in the history of our country.
In her remark, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiyah Umar Farouq, said the flag-off of the training of 5000 Independent Monitors was aimed at complementing the quick actualisation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) created by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.
The training which according to her was carried out across the country was initiated to ensure that each of the trained independent monitors keep a check on a designated number of beneficiaries of the National Social Investment Programmes in their respective designated Local Government Areas.
The Minister who was represented by the Director, Finance and Administration, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mr. Matthew Dada, said the initiative would further help to strength the existing partnership and mutual recognition of the need to do more on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).
She said the initiative would go a long way to foster and bring more Nigerians under the umbrella of the government’s social protection mechanism as part of efforts to look at scaling up the numbers of the pupils benefiting from the programme as directed by the President as over 9million pupils currently benefit from 1 free nutritious meal a day during the school term nationwide.
“You may recall that we flagged of the training of 5000 Independent Monitors for the National Social Investment Programme in Abuja on Thursday 4th February 2021. The training was carried out across the Country from February 2021 to April 2021.
“Today we are here to distribute Engagement Letters and Devices to the Trained Independent Monitors. These Devices are equipped with an Application that will be used to report on monitoring activities of the trained Independent Monitors,” she added.
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Social Intervention Programmes, Mr. Abimbola Bello, applauded President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Oyetola for taking the welfare and well-being of the people as priority.
He attributed the successful implementation of some of the government’s social protection policies to unflinching support received from Governor Oyetola who he said had demonstrated rare leadership quality at reducing poverty and hunger to insignificant minimum.
Bello who disclosed that over one million Osun citizens have benefitted from various State and National social intervention programmes of the government urged the citizens to continue to support the progressive governments in the country.
“We have already trained the independent monitors that we have inaugurated today. These people are selected across the State to monitor the four cardinal social intervention programmes under the National Social Investment Programmes.
“The beneficiaries will be paid on monthly basis running for a year as the required devices have been given to them to carry out the assignment. But my advice for them is to be diligent and perform the duties with topmost sincerity while they are expected to be conscious of the fact that there are monitors for monitors,” he added.
