FG spends N22.5bn on social investment in Edo – Farouq

Sadiya Farouq, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, says it has spent over N22.5bn on various Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP) in Edo State.

Farouq disclosed this in Benin, the Edo State capital, during a rally organised by the beneficiaries of the programme.

The minister equally said that no fewer than 386,194 benefited from the different social investment programmes in the state, including Conditional Cash Transfer, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Program (GEEP), National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), Grant for Rural Women, among others.

Giving the breakdown of the beneficiaries, the minister, represented by Bello John, Edo state team lead, said “out of the number, 32,545 were N-Power graduate beneficiaries on N30,000 monthly stipend and 3,905 N-Power non-graduate beneficiaries were trained on various N-Skill programme while 3,119 are GEEP beneficiaries.

“For the HGSFP, we are feeding 14,208 pupils in the state alone. For the Cash Transfer, we have 342,295 poor and vulnerable households that are receiving the N5,000 grant monthly. In addition, the 2020 Grant for Rural Women (GRW), 1,566 rural women received N20,000 each totaling N31,320,000 while 2,764 women, men and youth benefited from the 2021 Grant for Vulnerable Groups, also totaling N55,280,000.

“In other words, 4,330 people from Edo State benefited from both grants for rural women and vulnerable groups, totaling N86,600,000.

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“In total, the funds that we have injected in Edo State so far is more than N22,569,930,000,00,” she added.

Osayuwamen Aladeselu, the Edo State focal person, on her part, said governor Godwin Obaseki believed in the N-Power programme and had put in place institutional power that is ready to take the beneficiaries in the state.

Ikponmwosa Joy, one of the beneficiaries, appealed to the Federal Government to extend the programmes beyond the administration of President Buhari.