Out of the 5.6 million households that benefited from the Federal Government National Conditional Cash Transfer (FG-NCCT) in Nigeria, 48,000 of the beneficiaries are from Nasarawa State.
The NCCT, which is the key component of the National Social Safety Net Project (NSSNP) of the Federal Government programme, targeting about 15 million households, is aimed at providing financial supports to eligible vulnerable households in Nigeria.
The beneficiaries who have been confirmed and cleared by the NSSNP for payment, are however faced with challenges of access the N25,000 paid into their accounts. Each household got the said amount in three installments, totaling N75,000.
To address the complaints from the beneficiaries of their inability to access the amount, the Nasarawa State Office of the Conditional Cash Transfer, has trained over 250 facilitators in the 13 local government areas of the state, to help the unit sensitize the beneficiaries on how to access their money, using Automated Teller Machine card issued them.
The facilitators, who were trained during a one day workshop on community sensitization and awareness creation, held in Lafia, the state capital, are to also engage the beneficiaries in a town hall meeting in that regard across rural communities of the state.
Rhoda Agbawu, the State Programme Manager of the NCCT, said they are now focusing on public sensitization to the beneficiaries, because it is one of the critical aspects of the programme.
According to Agbawu, more than 500,000 vulnerable individuals have been registered and profiled to benefit from the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer programme in Nasarawa State.
Represented by the Head of Operations, Usman Abubakar, Agbawu revealed that, although over 48,000 households in Nasarawa State have already received payments, many of the beneficiaries still lack basic financial literacy, especially on how to access the funds from their bank accounts.
“Some of the beneficiaries who collected the ATM card, went and gave it to their children, some of them went and dumped it somewhere, so, when they were being paid they started complaining about not seeing the money.
“The 229 facilitators we are training today, at the end of the training, they will go back to their various communities and sensitise the beneficiaries on handling ATM cards, and also how to use the money to improve their lives,” the Programme Manager said.
She explained that, the workshop was part of the strategic effort, aimed at ensuring the smooth and effective implementation of the cash transfer programme at the grassroots level.
Agbawu, therefore emphasised the need for facilitators to exercise due diligence, transparency, and accountability in guiding the beneficiaries to ensure the funds are used for productive livelihood ventures.
The State Coordinator of the Social Safety Net Programme, Hussaini Musa, said the training was timely considering the change in the disbursement processes.
“If you could remember the federal government’s pledge to pay a stipend of 25, 000 for three tranches of instalment to the poor and vulnerable to cushion the hardship in the society.
“Before now the method of disbursement was through a customised debit card, but now, the beneficiaries are being paid directly to their bank account.
“So, now there is a need to sensitise them on this development, to tell them that this money that is coming to their account is from the federal government, so that they can make judicial use of the money”, he further explained.
Iskilu Sale, one of the resource persons at the workshop, explained that the training covered improved communication strategies and introduced participants to new procedures in light of recent changes in the fund disbursement process.
Sale, who is the State Training and Communication officer of CCT unit, urged the community facilitators to use the knowledge gained at the workshop to sensitise the beneficiaries across the 13 local government areas.
Musa Ibrahim and Nancy Paul, who spoke on behalf of other facilitators, pledged their commitment to ensuring the successful implementation of the programme in their various communities.
