Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state hs condemned one of the federal government’s palliative measures, the conditional cash transfer initiative.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the federal government had commenced cash transfer to the vulnerable and the poorest households in the country to help them cushion the effects of the pandemic.
Speaking on a radio interview in Ibadan the state capital on Monday, governor Makinde asked the government how did they identify the vulnerable in the country.
The governor who recovered from COVID-19 in less than a week claimed that 80 percent of the funds meant for disbursement in the state are wasted.
He added that the remaining 20 percent is meager and inconsequential.
“About, I think two days ago, in our meeting, the task force meeting, the head of service [Mrs Ololade Agboola] informed me that the conditional cash transfer from the federal government is going to give N20,000 to people in ten local government areas of Oyo state. I said ‘okay, fine. I mean it’s good that you are informing me.’ But this is a programme that predates this administration and I have never been impressed for one day by how they’ve identified the poorest of the poor and the impact,” Makinde said.
“So, I see this as an opportunity for us to ensure that we get to the real people that require those palliatives; that’s one. Secondly, once we are able to get this right, that will become the pillar upon which we can build for future efforts. And once we have been able to do it right once, we won’t have to go back to the foundation again.
“The data is already being collated by our people in the field. They started yesterday. And, I can promise the people of Oyo state that it’s not going to be business as usual, where we show a pile of foodstuffs in some warehouse somewhere and in the end, this won’t get to the people who really need it. That will not happen in Oyo state.
“Well, I am not policing it. All I am saying is I am not satisfied. I have done a little bit of work on it in terms of gathering intelligence, finding out if this money is actually getting to the people that require it, and part of my findings are that no, close to 80 per cent of that money is wasted and 20 per cent that actually gets to some form of individuals is too little and too meagre to have the desired impact. That is my own finding.
“Well, it is a federal government initiative. We will keep engaging them and more than likely, change the coordinator. Because, I do have control over the coordinator of that programme. I will change the coordinator and also when we are able to get our own data right, we will tweak it to ensure that the actual people, the real people that require this assistance, are the ones getting it.”
