At least no fewer than fifteen thousand (15,000) out of twenty five thousand (25,000) poor Benue state indigenes enrolled in the National Cash Transfer Office, have so far benefited from the programme in the ongoing poverty alleviation programme of the Federal government to improve the living stardands.
The Head of Unit, Benue State Cash Transfer Office Waghbo Terkula made this known during a two-day step down training on Hup-cct orientation beneficiary enrollment process at smile view Hotel Makurdi, Benue State capital.
Waghbo explained that nine out of twenty three Local Government Areas in the state have been selected to benefit from the programme in the first phase with three Local Governments drawn from each of the three senatorial zones of the state, adding that Ushongo, Konshisha and Vandeikya have been captured from zone ‘A’, Buruku, Gwer west and Guma from zone ‘B’ while Oju, Ogbadibo and Ado local governments have been captured from Benue South senatorial district.
He said each enrollee is to be paid the sum of five thousand naira (#5,000) monthly while fourteen thousand, five hundred and eighty one have so far benefited in the first phase of payment.
In a paper titled “Local Government Cash Transfer Facilitators” the National enrollment Office, Muhammad Musa revealed that poverty and Hunger were still high among rural dwellers especially female headed households with poor sources of income in Nigeria.
Muhammad emphasized that the Federal Government has created the conditional Cash Transfer programme as a deliberate strategy to help graduate people from extreme as well as prevent the vulnerable from living below poverty line.
Desk officers from the three senatorial districts including Ihuraza James from zone “A”, Gbatoon Steven zone “B” and Ogbochi James from zone “C” all said the programme has tremendously improved the standard of living of the beneficiaries and assured the state unit head that the money will be used to enable beneficiaries to live above poverty line.
