The Federal Government’s verification of the National Social Register began on Saturday in Makoko, Lagos state, under the direction of Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Betta Edu.
The initiative, according to the minister, will make sure that the social register maintained by the federal government is correct and includes all eligible individuals.
Edu said that she had come to the area to kick off the Social Register verification for the state’s vulnerable residents of the Makoko Area.
“President Bola Tinubu has asked us to come here and verify the National Social Register,” she remarked, referring to the Makoko district of Lagos State.
“The President wants to make sure that the social register is accurate and includes all of the persons who should be included.
The Nigerian Federal Government is working to get money into the hands of its citizens.
This is to aid them with their companies, way of life, and the generation of jobs, as well as to enable them to afford necessities like sending their kids to school and ensuring that they have access to high-quality healthcare.
“We need to check the National Social Register in order to do this,”
The president, according to the minister, is committed to making sure that those listed on the national social register are actually poor and make less than $1 per day.
“The president has given his approval for us to reach out to the general public and make sure that the national social register accurately represents those who are poor, who make less than $1 per day, and who live in distant locations and areas that actually need assistance.
“Those who ought not to be listed on the registry ought to be taken off. Include those who must be listed on the registry.
“So, this is one of the examples that we are using. Both geographic and community targeting are something we do.
“This is our first sample, and after looking around, we discovered that the national record covered a number of elements of the Makoko.
But the last region we visited wasn’t included in the national social register, so Edu explained, “We will be returning to do a targeted capturing of the people in this area.”
She added that the exercise would be conducted all over the nation to guarantee the integrity of a National Social Register in Nigeria.
“We will collaborate with the governors, the states, the local governments, and the leaders of the many communities.
“And we can be sure that those being captured and those to whom we will be making the conditional cash transfers are those who truly need it, devoid of political interference, devoid of social interference, and devoid of personal interest.”
The minister reportedly gave out some food to the area’s displaced people and held a free health outreach event in conjunction with her visit, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Edu said, “We won’t just show up here without anything, so we’ve looked into how we can send some food and comfort products their way.
“The distribution will carry on as before. Using the boats, they would travel from house to house and leave the items in various places.
“This is precisely what we need to do to make sure that, as we strive to eradicate poverty in Nigeria and lessen humanitarian disasters, we target the proper people.
We collaborate with the National Population Commission as well, so we can reach everyone.
“They (the population commission) have people in all 8,200 of the wards, villages, and voting places across the nation.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation stated, “So, we have persons there who will truly verify the register for us, identify the people, and then tell us areas that have not been captured.” (NAN)
