The Federal Government has trained 45 Independent Monitors for the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) in Ekiti.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, Flag off the training in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday.
The Minister who was represented by her Technical Assistant, Mrs. Kemisola Olasetemi, said the trainees will be assigned to monitor programme beneficiaries within their locality in schools, households, and market clusters, with the focus of ensuring that the primary objectives of these programmes are achieved.
"These programmes were moved to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development in 2019 following the creation of the Ministry. The scope of these programmes is large, with about 13 million citizens across 36 states and the FCT benefiting from the Federal Government Intervention.
"Today, we are training Independent Monitors that will monitor the programme at the community level. The Independent Monitors will be assigned to monitor programme beneficiaries within their locality in schools, households, and market clusters with the focus of ensuring that the Primary Objectives of these programmes are achieved.
"While this is the initial training to get you acquainted with your schedule of duties, the Ministry will ensure you continue to receive regular training and guidance for effective monitoring within the communities you are assigned.
“You will be closely supervised by officials of the ministry and your activities will also be monitored by the ministry and other stakeholders at the state level. It is therefore my expectation that you carry out this responsibility with utmost diligence and sincerity. Please, be informed that the ministry will not hesitate to take you off the programme if you are found violating the terms of your engagement.
Recall that the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) was created by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 with the mandate of lifting citizens out of poverty through a number of Social Interventions, which include the Job Creation Programme – N-Power, National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCT) and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).