Ifeanyi Ibe
The Federal and State Governments have been warned against throwing out the National Social Register (NSR).
The warning came from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) which were engaged as third-party monitors for the National Social Safety Net Programme during the administration of the former President, Muhammadu Buhari.
The NSR is a compilation which captures the names of vulnerable Nigerians and households across the country generated for the purpose of cash transfer and other social investment programmes.
The warning, which came on Tuesday, is on the heels of the position of the National Economic Council (NCE) last Thursday which urged President Bola Tinubu to dump the NSR, in preference for a new social register to be generated by each state.
The NASSP noted that jettisoning the register would be counter-productive to Nigeria’s poverty reduction efforts. FG To Share $800 million Among 50 million Nigerians After Removal Of Fuel Subsidy
According to a statement by the Head of the National TPM Civil Society Forum Centre for Health Education Economic Rehabilitation and Social Security, Dr Walter Ugwuocha, the CSOs emphasised that technology was employed to verify beneficiaries on the NSR, using GPS coordinates and barcodes for data validation and collation for households.
“The TPM data collation was household-based and GPS tagged to ensure accuracy and adherence to international standards,” Ugwuocha said.
He explained that the findings of the TPM indicated that 1,112,723 beneficiaries (98.5 per cent of sampled beneficiaries) were verified and received cash transfers.
“It also highlights the reasons for non-payment of cash to some beneficiaries, attributed to logistics challenges faced by program implementers.
“The compliance with guidelines for the identification of poor and vulnerable households was found to be 90 per cent with successful community sensitization and engagement,” he said.
Pointing out that significant resources were invested by development partners, including the World Bank, in supporting the development of the NSR, Ugwuocha expressed surprise at the position of the NEC.
However, he urged the NEC to engage and leverage the National Social Register to implement social assistance programmes effectively and lift millions out of poverty.
He reiterated that the NSR is a key instrument in the government’s efforts to address poverty in the country.
