By, MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
A challenge has again been thrown by the Bauchi State Government to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to provide evidence of any collaboration between it and the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) on how it identifies beneficiaries of the programmes in the state.
Bauchi has argued that its non-involvement in the NSIP programmes means that the ministry at far distance from the beneficiaries could not be able to identify the rural poor in the state except by some sleight-of-hand designed to polarize the state along partisan political lines or to favour some chosen people?
“If that was what happened, what guarantees do we have that those who ought to benefit were not excluded since the non-involvement of the state government could not have been done with the best of intentions? Bauchi queried
These posers to NSIP Friday by the Bauchi state government through the spokesman of the state governor, Mukhtar Gidado who queried that assuming the collaboration touted by the programme coordinator, Dr. Bindir existed in other states, why was Bauchi denied the same level of involvement?
Gidado said that Bauchi State Government is not aware of the process and selection of the Science and Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Centres which are captured in 13 public secondary schools in the state as claimed by the programme coordinator, Bindir.
The spokesman further disclosed that the state government is not aware of the beneficiaries and selection process of mobile money agents quoted in the Ministry’s response, and neither know the beneficiaries and the selection process of the phone repairs programme.
“It is also not aware of the beneficiaries and process of selection of grant for rural women. And going, by the figures released by the NSIP, it is strange that poverty still exists in Bauchi State”.
“Extrapolating it to the national level, with such huge expenditure, capturing a large number of Nigerians, is it not paradoxical that Nigeria, still parades the unenviable reputation of being the poverty capital of the world”.
Gidado who was the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, expressed dismay that the genuine and patriotic effort of President Muhammadu to reduce poverty through the instrumentality of the NSIP has been derailed by officials who have hijacked an otherwise laudable project for selfish projects.
According to him, to expect that Bauchi should keep quiet in the face of it, is to deny its people’s right as citizens of this great country to weigh in on conduct that is capable of worsening their painful pauperization.
Gidado however thanked Dr. Bindir for his gesture of welcoming Bauchi to the fold of responsible governments that established social safety net projects that addresses the poorest of the poor and provide the youth and special persons the opportunity for productive engagement and the dignity of life.
“As Dr. Bindir is probably aware, that was a fundamental plank of Governor Bala Mohammed’s Governorship campaign in 2019. In pursuing the social investment programme, the Governor is only living true to his philosophy that Government is a social contract and that elected officials have a moral responsibility to fulfil the promises on the bases on which they were elected”.
It is for these reasons, Gidado said, that in under three years the Bala Mohammed administration has so far launched the Kaura Economic Empowerment Programme (KEEP) in 10 out of the 20 local government areas of the state.
He enumerated other empowerment programmes that included transportation, skills acquisition and agriculture that have witnessed the empowerment of thousands youths with tricycles and cars, training in modern agricultural techniques, and capacity building in various skills, to equip the youth for self-employment and insulate them from criminal activities.
“We are happy that our people appreciate these life-changing interventions that added to the breath-taking infrastructural developments taking place all over the state, and reassured them that democracy can translate to the government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
He therefore invited Dr. Bindir to undertake a forensic appraisal aimed at rectifying observed gaps in delivering on the laudable promise of the NSIP, unless, perhaps, there are some non-people oriented subterranean issues, overshadowing the implementation of the NSIP in Bauchi state.
