FG urges 60 Gombe N-sip monitors on transparency
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, on Saturday, urged 60 monitors in Gombe to discharge their responsibilities by being transparent.
The 60 monitors are expected to oversee the performance of Federal Government National Social Investment Program (N-SIP) which includes; Home grown school feeding, N-power, the government enterprise and empowerment program and the conditional cash transfer.
Speaking during the distribution of work tools, Federal Minister, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, said the monitors have a responsibility of ensuring that government’s intervention trickles to the right people.
Represented by her technical adviser and team leader to North East states, Group Capt. Sadeeq Shehu (retd.), stressed that the monitors are expected to report both successes and otherwise, adding that would help government measure the effectiveness of the project.
Farouq said, “This is to give letters of engagement to 60 independent monitors in Gombe, many others have been selected across the federation in each local government in each state and they were trained about three months back.
“Aside the engagement letter, we are giving them tablets with which to capture the data. This is human, without evaluation you can’t measure your successes or otherwise.
“To yield transparency; the ministry has staff that would have done this but we decided to share the responsibility of monitoring with the local communities.
“The reason we identified young men and women that will make findings in primary schools, to ascertain how many children are been fed, how well they are been fed because for the feeding we have specific quantity, quantity and if it is N-power in your local area how many beneficiaries are enjoying the payment by ensuring that interventions are delivered as planned such as GEEP, N-power, Conditional Cash Transfer and home grown school feeding.
“If any community fails to get any of the interventions of the federal government it is the fault of the local monitor who is part of the community.
“I call on them not to collude with any service provider and based on the report of any of this people defaulting service provider will be removed. It is time to act as president, minister by ensuring things are done rightly and not to abuse the trust given to them.”
The minister revealed that the project would pave way for all round effect, saying that both the economy and homes would derive gains.
“In all the 4 projects the ministry has ensured that there is what is called trickle down effect, for instance for the home grown school feeding the meat we are going to buy would be bought in the market.
“The local butcher and poultry farmer would get patronage, women here will serve as cooks. This ties the president’s position in lifting as many people from poverty. The 60 monitors are indirect beneficiaries because they will be paid N30,000 monthly and again by giving them this tablets they will learn monitoring and evaluation.”
Also, Aishatu Abubakar, one of the 60 monitors from Funakaye Local Government Area in Gombe, promised to ensure government gets value for money.
“I’m expected to monitor GEEP, Conditional Cash Transfer, N-power and Home grown school feeding program in Funakaye LGA.
“I will report creditably without bias to government to enable them make the best decision. I wish to urge my colleagues to work diligently without fear or favour,” she said.
