By Chinyere Nwoye/Chris Chikelue :
No fewer than 500 Anambra Individuals have benefitted from the Federal Government assisted Support Grants to the Vulnerable Households Affected by Banditry and Internally Displaced Persons Programme.
The grants of ₦50, 000 each to the individuals were doled out at the Orientation/Flag off of the Support for Selected Vulnerable Households held at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre, Awka.
The individuals were selected from 15 Local Government Areas of the state with high level of displaced persons due to natural disasters and attacks by bandits namely, Ihiala, Nnewi North, Nnewi South Orumba North, Orumba South, Anambra East and Anambra West.
Others are Aguata, Ayamelum, Dunukofia, Oyi, Njikoka, Idemili South, Idemili North and Awka South
While interacting with the people, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Investment Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadia Umar Farouk advised that for Anambra State to benefit more from the Federal Government Social Investment Programmes the people need to key into all the support programmes.
“It is important to note that through the office of Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affair, the Federal Government has done much in terms of intervention, in terms of looking into the plights of the vulnerable ones in our society, I am talking of the cases of confirmed, the people with disabilities, the elderly, the displaced persons and victims of banditry.
“It is always important for you to come into the system, understand what the system is talking about then you stand in a better position to ask for more but when you do not come into the system, you do not get closer to see what is going on, it will be difficult for us to understand what is going on and even to understand or ask for what are those things that we expect to get from government as a result of this most of us have been cutting ourselves out of some of the things the Federal Government has made for us.
The minister represented by her Special Adviser on Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Ngene enumerated some of the Federal Government Sponsored Poverty alleviation programmes such as the N-Power and the National Growth School Feeding Programme and commended the state for keying into the programmes.
“The Social Investment Programme has been cued into in Anambra State, we have an impact in Anambra State already when you come here you hear the N’ Power, a lot of people have already benefitted from it, you talk about National Growth School Feeding Programme some Primary schools in the state are also benefitting from it.
“The National Provisional Cash transfer also has Anambra State benefitting from it and another programme that was launched yesterday, in no distance time, Anambra will be benefitting from it. We also have the farmers’ money and the traders’ money in no distance time Anambra will be benefitting from them all.
“We have carried out tests to see to it that we live up to the mandate of the ministry. I now want to encourage us, as little that is coming to us let us know that this is a federal government programme/intervention. I know much may not be there for everyone but that very one that is being designated for us please let us try and come and take it.’’
The Minister said that she was impressed with the turn out of the people to support and witness the event and commended the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for deeming it fit to roll out these poverty alleviation programmes so as to put smiles on the faces of the people of the state.
“We are gathered here today to witness the consolidation of the Federal Government efforts towards poverty reduction, disaster management and effective response to the plight of Nigerians in the face of numerous challenges that confront them.
“We are also here to witness the programme designed by the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to specially and effectively give a lifting hand to some of our poorest and vulnerable citizens.
“The Federal Government has formulated programmes that are being implemented with close partnership with the State Government and such effort is a clear demonstration of our collective commitment to address poverty which today is a core development challenge confronting us as a people.
“Since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2015 the Federal Government has paid more attention to generating solutions to address the plight of the poor and vulnerable Nigerians despite other economic challenges the administration inherited at the time.
“This informed the decision to initiate the National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP) in 2015 as a strategy for poverty reduction and enhancing social inclusion among our people especially the vulnerable ones.
“This National Social Investment Programme has been acclaimed by many to be the largest and most ambitious social protection programme.”
The Minister, however, regretted the level of insurgency and banditry as well as flooding in Nigeria which according to her, has also resulted to massive destruction of basic infrastructure, health and education facilities including commercial infrastructures, private houses and agriculture assets.
“The conflict created by high insecurity which has affected access to basic social services, farm lands, markets and other source of livelihood leading to high unemployment rate and low economic participation.”
She, then, said that it was in cognizance to the shortcomings that President Buhari approved that the ministry through the National Social Investment Programme should provide both financial and material intervention to the vulnerable group around the country.
The Commissioner for Women and Social Affairs Mrs. Ify Ibinabo, While welcoming the recipients and the guests to the programme said that the government of Anambra State is on daily basis thinking of how to make the people of the state comfortable and how to make the state a liveable society.
“We know that we will be passing through so many challenges though not peculiar to Anambra state alone in Nigeria but you can agree with me that quite some time that these challenges, all the things that the governor and his solution team are supposed to do that they are doing them very well.
“This is to make us at least to be comfortable, go out, come back which is the most important thing in respect to security and they have been trying in so many other way that whenever our cooperation and support are needed to make sure that we alleviate the suffering of Ndi-Anambra, Mr. Governor will not waste time in doing that.
“I want to use this opportunity to beg us Ndi-Anambra; we generated this social register from time to time; when you are called upon to provide one information or the other feel free to do that.
“When you hide this information at least once you confirm that it is coming from the State Government, be free to work with them because they are there to help you and you must help them to help you.
“When these kind of thing is being done some people will ask you how did you generate these and probably he or she must have been contacted when these registers were being generated and the person was not free to say something and it is only when you can help yourself that people will be able to help you.
“Government is doing all these because it wants to be sure that the people it is helping are the real people that needed that help.”
While giving a vote of theanks the Managing Director Anambra State Emergency Agency, Barr. Chukwudi Onyejekwe represented by the Agency’s Executive Secretary, Chief Paul Odenigbo pleaded with the Federal Government to increase the number of beneficiaries for Anambra in subsequent bail-outs.
” Anambra has a lot of social menace in its communities so it will be laudable to increase the number of beneficiaries in the state.”
He urged the recipients to make judicious use of the grant.
