Abia State State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Mrs Ngozi Blessing Felix, has described the National Cash Transfer Program as the cornerstone of the National Social Investment Program and one of the most direct and impactful tools for lifting households out of poverty.
Mrs. Felix who stated this at the Banquet Hall of Bishop Anthony Nwaedo Pastorial Centre, Umuahia, during a High-Level Stakeholders’ Engagement & Sensitization Meeting organized by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction in Collaboration with the National Social Investment Program Agency, the National Cash Transfer Office and the State Cash Transfer Unit, noted that the state Cash Transfer Unit domiciled in her ministry has already made a positive difference through direct credit transfer and putting resources into the hands of the poorest households.
According to the Commissioner, under the administration of Governor Alex Otti, the ministry has taken decisive steps to update and expand the Social Investment register through the State Operations Cognitive Unit (SOCU) which she said is an impactful step aimed at ensuring that no household is left out.
She noted that the High-Level Stakeholders’ Engagement & Sensitization Meeting was organized to remind the stakeholders about the work done and to strengthen collaboration across all levels of government and further tasked the stakeholders to ensure proper targeting, payment, effective monitoring and an effective system that would remain sustainable beyond the first phase of the National Social Safety Net Programme – Scale Up (NASSP-SU).
In his opening remarks, the State Focal Person on National Investment Programs and Special Adviser to Abia State Governor on Policies and Interventions, Rev. Fr. Christian Anokwuru, explained that the National Investment Program has over the years remained a beacon of hope to millions of Nigerians under the Cash transfer, adding that the primary goal of the scheme is to empower 15 million Nigerians and to ensure that vulnerable households are not left out in the fight against poverty.
Also speaking, the Abia State Program Manager, Cash Transfer Unit, Mrs Ihie-Adanna Oke, Esq, explained that over 15 million Nigerians have benefited from the program, pointing out that hundreds of poor Abians have been lifted up through the program, and lauded the steadfastness of the present administration in the Abia in uplifting standards of the downtrodden.
The event attracted the presence of some Local Government Mayors of Abia state, including the State ALGON Chairman and Mayor of Isuikwuato LGA, Mr Chinedu Ekeke, stakeholders of the National Social Investment Program, among others.
