The Minsiter of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, says no fewer than 13 million Nigerians are currently benefitting from the Federal Government Social Investment Programme, NSIP, nationwide.

Mrs Umar-Farouq disclosed this while flagging off the training of Independent Monitors at the state level on Thursday in Yola.

The minister, represented by Dr Umar Bindir, the National Coordinator of the NSIP, said that the monitors were carefully selected across the 21 local government areas of the state.

“The National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) was created by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 with the mandate of lifting citizens out of poverty through its various interventions.

“So far, about 13 million citizens across the 36 States and the FCT are benefitting from the interventions.

“And today, we are training Independent Monitors that will monitor the interventions programmes at the community level,” Farouq said.

She noted that their core role was to monitor programme beneficiaries within their locality with the focus of ensuring that the primary objectives were achieved.

Mary Yuwadi, the Adamawa Focal Person of the programme, said that the training of the monitors was timely.

Mrs Yuwadi said that the recruitment and training of the monitors would significantly help in checkmating the progress and challenges of the social investment activities in the state.

She said that about 28,503 vulnerable and poor households across the 21 local government areas of the state were receiving monthly stipend of N5,000 each under the Conditional Cash Transfer, CCT.

“Under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), popularly known as School Feeding. In Adamawa, over 1,047 Primary Schools and about 2,300 cook vendors are benefitting from the programme.

“Also, under the Federal Government Entrepreneurship Empowerment Programme (EEP) about 38,827 men and women benefitted from the soft loans issued in 2018.

“While in the N-Power Programme, about 11,324 youths in the state benefitted since 2017 to 2020 July,” Mr Yuwadi said.

She advised the monitors to be serious and transparent as well as exhibit integrity while discharging their respective duties for the smooth implementation of the programmes.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 256 independent monitors were selected and trained for the programmes in the state.