By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]enin City, Nigeria – Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has lamented the fraud recently uncovered at the Social Investment Programme and called on the Buhari administration to carry out a full scale investigation with a view to bringing all suspects to book.The Social Investment Programme of the Federal government of Nigeria was put in place by the Buhari administration as a palliative measure to help people out of poverty.
It seeks to create jobs through a school feeding programme for children in primary schools and soft loans to indigent women and youth.
In what looks like a surprise to many who are used to Nigeria’s corruption profile, the lid on fraud in the programme in some states was blown open recently by the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Social Investment Programme, Mrs. Mariam Uwais.
Mrs. Uwais had listed those corrupt practices as including shortchanging, racketeering and harassment of beneficiaries as well as exploitation of the vulnerable.
ANEEJ Executive Director, in his call for investigation into the fraud saluted the audacity and honesty behind the disclosure and aligned with Mrs. Uwais for proper monitoring of the scheme nationwide.
“This kind of honesty by the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment Programme, Mrs. Mariam Uwais is needed in our collective effort to fight corruption in the country, Ugolor noted.”
“It clearly shows that there is no hiding place for the corrupt under her watch. It clearly shows that there is hope at the other end of the tunnel in our fight against graft and she deserves commendation.
“The presidential aide’s admittance that “the Federal Government was weak in the monitoring of the implementation of the programmes reinforces the need for Civil Society partnership with government to strengthen the monitoring of expenditure of funds meant for the programme.” Ugolor noted.
“ANEEJ as a leading CSO in monitoring of the use of public funds for poverty eradication in the country would bring our experience to support the effort of government in this regard, more so as some looted funds being repatriated from Switzerland and other sources are being channeled to National Social Investment Programme.
“We would join forces with other stakeholders to ensure that monies meant to combat poverty are not looted by the corrupt at the state levels.” Ugolor assured.
Prior to revelations by the organizers of the programme, there have been complaints regarding the quality of food being fed to school children and ghost recipients who have hijacked it for fraudulent intents.
“These instances reveal that the programme, laudable as it seems, may be one example of a social remedy which may not have been well-thought out for execution,” Ugolor said.
He therefore called for a committee to be set up by the Federal government to rejig and re-evaluate the programme, based on the revelations of corruption and irregularities expressed by the coordinators of the Social Investment Programme.
It is sad, he said, to note that state officials working under the programme were taking undue advantage of the poor people they were supposed to be serving and helping to exit poverty.
