Government rejigs social investment programmes for effectiveness, efficiency

The Federal Government is rejigging its social investment programmes (SIPs) for effectiveness and efficiency with the establishment of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP) said the endorsement by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank and the World Economic Forum was as a testament of its impact in Africa’s most populous country.

Regarded as the largest social protection programme in Nigeria’s history, the SIP has four broad projects namely N-Power; Conditional Cash Transfers; National Home-Grown School Feeding and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programmes, GEEP).

At inception in 2016, the office of the Vice President was responsible for overseeing the project while issues of funding, contract awards and procurement had always been undertaken by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

An inter-ministerial steering committee, chaired by the vice president and composed of several ministries, had policy oversight on the programme’s implementation.

In his independence day speech yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari stated that in order to “institutionalise these impactful programmes, we created the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development which shall consolidate and build on our achievements to date.”

He added: “Indeed the Social Investment Programmes have also been recognised by several local and international organisations for empowering Nigerians and meeting the urgent needs of Nigerians in different areas including providing employments and supporting small businesses and poverty alleviation.”

The Communications Manager for National Social Investment Office (NSIO), Tienabeso Bibiye, in a statement yesterday, said the Action Aid (Nigeria); Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) had commended the NSIP for its impact nationwide.

He explained that the effect had also attracted global reckon.

“ Since its implementation in 2016, the N-SIPs have impacted over 12 million direct beneficiaries and over 30 million indirect beneficiaries, comprising family members, employees of beneficiaries, cooks and farmers,” Bibiye added.