A Critical Look At FG’s N5,000 Monthly Stipends For Poor Nigerians
OUR CORRESPONDENTS — It is no longer news that the Federal Government said that it has commenced the payment of N5,000 monthly stipends to one million poor Nigerians. This is according to the promise by President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), during the 2015 electoral campaigns.
The government also indicated that some people had already received the money by the end of December 2016. The monthly N5, 000 stipend, according to the government, is for “the poorest and most vulnerable in the country.” The payment is said to be through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes (SIP).
According to the government’s plan, one million poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians would receive N5, 000 monthly as a form of social safety net. In the first batch, nine states were said to have been covered while many of the beneficiaries have acknowledged receipt of their first payment by Friday, December 30, 2016.
The funds for the commencement of the programme in four states were said to have been released by the end of December 2016 to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the platform that hosts and validates payments for all government’s social intervention programmes.
The federal government also indicated that another set of five states would get funds to complete the first batch. Though the sequence for the payment of the money would be operationally managed by NIBSS, beneficiaries in Borno, Kwara and Bauchi States were said to have started receiving the money.
The other states in the first batch to commence the CCT payments, according to the government, are Cross Rivers, Niger, Kogi, Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti States.
Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, in a statement said the nine pilot states were chosen because they had a social register that successfully identified the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians through a tried and tested community-based targeting (CBT) method working with the World Bank.
Akande also stated that other states had already begun developing their social registers and would be included in subsequent phases of the CCT implementation.
“Beneficiaries of the CCT would be mined from the social register, initially developed by eight states through a direct engagement with the World Bank.
“Those states are featured in the first batch, with the added inclusion of Borno State where validated lists of IDPS were compiled in addition to the Social Register which is expected to go round the country,” Akande said.
With the reported commencement of the payment of the N5,000 stipends, Nigerians are now wondering how feasible the programme will be, with the significant drop in the value of naira. They wonder if the government could sustain the FG’s N5,000 stipend for the poor and if it will have any effect on the lives of the beneficiaries.
N5,000 Stipend, A Deceit – Lawyer
The government also indicated that some people had already received the money by the end of December 2016. The monthly N5, 000 stipend, according to the government, is for “the poorest and most vulnerable in the country.” The payment is said to be through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes (SIP).
According to the government’s plan, one million poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians would receive N5, 000 monthly as a form of social safety net. In the first batch, nine states were said to have been covered while many of the beneficiaries have acknowledged receipt of their first payment by Friday, December 30, 2016.
The funds for the commencement of the programme in four states were said to have been released by the end of December 2016 to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the platform that hosts and validates payments for all government’s social intervention programmes.
The federal government also indicated that another set of five states would get funds to complete the first batch. Though the sequence for the payment of the money would be operationally managed by NIBSS, beneficiaries in Borno, Kwara and Bauchi States were said to have started receiving the money.
The other states in the first batch to commence the CCT payments, according to the government, are Cross Rivers, Niger, Kogi, Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti States.
Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, in a statement said the nine pilot states were chosen because they had a social register that successfully identified the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians through a tried and tested community-based targeting (CBT) method working with the World Bank.
Akande also stated that other states had already begun developing their social registers and would be included in subsequent phases of the CCT implementation.
“Beneficiaries of the CCT would be mined from the social register, initially developed by eight states through a direct engagement with the World Bank.
“Those states are featured in the first batch, with the added inclusion of Borno State where validated lists of IDPS were compiled in addition to the Social Register which is expected to go round the country,” Akande said.
With the reported commencement of the payment of the N5,000 stipends, Nigerians are now wondering how feasible the programme will be, with the significant drop in the value of naira. They wonder if the government could sustain the FG’s N5,000 stipend for the poor and if it will have any effect on the lives of the beneficiaries.
N5,000 Stipend, A Deceit – Lawyer
Olu Omotayo, a lawyer and the President of Citizens Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN) has described the N5000 stipend purportedly paid to vulnerable Nigerians by the Federal Government as a deceit.
He said: “N5000 stipend is a way to deceive Nigerians. It cannot take care of lunch of a Senator or politician in Nigeria. Who are they deceiving? We are saying that they should provide employment to the youth.
“How many state governors have programmes to employ youths? It is government deception. It is a way to create avenue for fraud. Some people want to use it to embezzle money. They should use the money for skill acquisition. The policy should be condemned by every reasonable Nigerian.”
It Is A Waste of Public Funds – Ogun
He said: “N5000 stipend is a way to deceive Nigerians. It cannot take care of lunch of a Senator or politician in Nigeria. Who are they deceiving? We are saying that they should provide employment to the youth.
“How many state governors have programmes to employ youths? It is government deception. It is a way to create avenue for fraud. Some people want to use it to embezzle money. They should use the money for skill acquisition. The policy should be condemned by every reasonable Nigerian.”
It Is A Waste of Public Funds – Ogun
Sergius Ogun, a member of the House of Representatives, has said that the N5,000 monthly social intervention programme of the Buhari administration to help reduce poverty among the poor is nothing but a waste of public funds.
Hon. Ogun, who represents Esan East/Esan West Federal Constituency of Edo State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stated this in the light of how Nigerians have abused the same systems abroad.
He said, the APC administration, though trying to fulfill a campaign promise, should have had a rethink regarding the effectiveness of the system and the cost of implementing it.
“I made a distress call on the floor of the House last year. And maybe they made that promise during the campaign. But, with what is on ground today, is it achievable? I think it is not expedient that they go ahead with it, and in all honesty, Nigerians will understand.
“Look at the price of oil, maybe they were hoping that it would come up, and with what is happening in the Niger Delta; more so that we are in a recession now. If you put that money in infrastructure and let’s say we budgeted XY amount of money and put it in the Lagos-Ibadan expressway project or the Abuja-Lokoja road project. Let us just tie the money to a specific project and if this money will go there, do you know the number of people that will be employed?
“So, we should be targeting projects that do not just bring in extra income but allow for employment. Because most of the problems we have in this country today are due to youth restiveness and the fact that many people are not working, and the youths are not engaged. So, I think it is misplaced, I don’t think it is expedient, I also think it is lack of vision,” Ogun said.
The lawmaker expressed concern over the attitude of Nigerians who always find a way of short changing any system no matter how well it is set up and the integrity of those managing it.
“I said the last time I was on this topic, I asked: What is N5000 to an unemployed person? What will be the mode of even putting it in place? And I also mentioned those that are on unemployment benefit in the UK and food stamp in the US are largely Nigerians. And they defrauded the system.
“You will see Nigerians that are on unemployment benefits for 15 to 30 years, and they are graduates. Most of them have gone to jail because they were caught using people’s names, people who don’t even exist or are dead to collect money in different counties. They would claim houses and collect money in the names of those people, even with that kind of system.
“If Nigerians have gone to jail for that kind of things in a more sophisticated system, you can imagine what they will do in our system here that is very corrupt. We can’t even manage our pension. We have been talking of ghost workers every day. We can’t even arrest it. From the local governments to states, up to the federal government, there are ghost workers.
“Now, you are setting up a system, how are you going to manage it? Setting up the system alone is going to cost money. I don’t know how they arrived at the poorest among us. I don’t know, because my state is not among the states they started with.
“So, I wouldn’t know how they arrived at those who are now beneficiaries. If my state is among, I would have seen the people to know the criteria they used. But, I think it’s just a waste of public funds,” the lawmaker stressed.
The Amount Is Too Small – Social Critic
Comrade Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo, Osun State-based social critic, said the N5,000 stipend the federal government said it was giving to poor Nigerians is too small and a pittance that will not make any significant change in their lives.
He suggested that the amount should be increased to N20,000 in order to be meaningful. He added that the aged should still be supported by their children and loved ones to make life more meaningful to them at their ripe age.
FG Seeking Undue Popularity With N5000 Stipend – Ndem
Engr Otobong Ndem, a member representing Mkpat Enin State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, has stressed the need for the N5,000 stipend for unemployed Nigerians to be utilised to establish industries to create employment for the teeming population of unemployed youths.
He also suggested that the money set aside for the purpose should be utilised for the establishment of five-star ?hospitals to reduce capital flight and reduce medical tourism, and also to improve the educational sector.
The lawmaker said that by that policy, the federal government is seeking undue popularity through the payment of the N5,000, adding that the amount cannot sustain anyone for two weeks, describing the scheme as an embarrassment to Nigerians.
Ndem maintained that any government with good intentions would rather consider the future and a more enduring ways to affect the people, even as he described the amount as paltry and a transient ?programme that may have no notable impact on the people.
While cautioning the federal government against politicising the survival and welfare of Nigerians, he noted that though of very little or no value for an individual, N5,000 if accumulated and judiciously utilised, could take the nation to a great extent.
“N5,000 monthly stipend for unemployed Nigerians, in my opinion, is paltry and unpopular. The federal ?government should rather look for avenues to establish industries and create employment, if it truly desires to touch the people.
“Such resources should also be channelled to building of five-star hospitals to reduce capital flights and for educational development. Why I am saying these is because considering the present economic realities, N5,000 cannot take anyone beyond two days. But N5,000 if accumulatively over a period, could mean a lot,” He stressed.
‘Many Nigerians Do Not Touch N5,000 A Year’
Mr Charles Aluya, a Benin-based human rights activist said he supported the payment of the N5,000 stipends.
According to him, the amount will impact on the lives of the recipients as many Nigerians do not see that amount in a year let alone touching it.
He stated: “So, N5,000 a month to these set of Nigerians is heaven on earth for them. However, my question and only fear is: How are these poorest Nigerians be identified? What criteria would they use to select them? We were told that the programme has commenced in some states. How? Who are the beneficiaries?
“Those in charge of the programme should publish the names of the first set of beneficiaries. Without that I will believe that some opportune politicians are just helping themselves to the detriment of the poorest Nigerians,”
‘N5,000 Stipend Would Not Make Any Impact’
He stated: “So, N5,000 a month to these set of Nigerians is heaven on earth for them. However, my question and only fear is: How are these poorest Nigerians be identified? What criteria would they use to select them? We were told that the programme has commenced in some states. How? Who are the beneficiaries?
“Those in charge of the programme should publish the names of the first set of beneficiaries. Without that I will believe that some opportune politicians are just helping themselves to the detriment of the poorest Nigerians,”
‘N5,000 Stipend Would Not Make Any Impact’
Chief Raphael Ibetolem, an Owerri, Imo State-based opinion analyst, said the payment of the N5,000 stipend to poor Nigerians will not make any impact on the lives of the beneficiaries. He asked: Now that the value of Naira has depreciated to an incredible level, what will N5,000 fetch them?
“To feed, pay school fees, house rent, take care of hospital expenses, transport, or to cater for one’s aged parents? Do you know that there are families in Nigeria today who almost spend N5,000 daily on feeding alone?
“So when you give N5,000 to a poor man who is jobless and has nobody to take care of him, what will N5,000 do for him?” he asked.
Jasper Nduka, an Owerri-based businessman maintained that giving N5,000 stipend for poor Nigerians cannot be a lifeline.
He said: “It is just like giving somebody a job and placing him on a monthly salary of N5,000. What do you think the person will achieve with it?
“Today, a cup of garri sells at N120 in the Owerri Main Market while prices of rice, beans, cubes of magi and vegetable oil have since gone out of the reach of the poor.
“The federal government should provide jobs for the poor Nigerians instead of playing to the gallery in the guise of poverty alleviation.
Chief Isaiah Obimefule, Chairman, Timber Dealers Association, Oru West Council Area of Imo State, said: “The recession has made life meaningless for the rich, the not-too-rich and the poor in this country and you are talking of paying N5,000 to a poor man. Is the federal government going to pay this weekly or monthly or is it just once in a year?
“You, as a journalist, if you give somebody N5,000, will you feel fulfilled that you have touched his life? My friend, paying N5,000 is not the ideal thing.”
N5,000 Payment Is A Political Gimmick –Stakeholders
“Today, a cup of garri sells at N120 in the Owerri Main Market while prices of rice, beans, cubes of magi and vegetable oil have since gone out of the reach of the poor.
“The federal government should provide jobs for the poor Nigerians instead of playing to the gallery in the guise of poverty alleviation.
Chief Isaiah Obimefule, Chairman, Timber Dealers Association, Oru West Council Area of Imo State, said: “The recession has made life meaningless for the rich, the not-too-rich and the poor in this country and you are talking of paying N5,000 to a poor man. Is the federal government going to pay this weekly or monthly or is it just once in a year?
“You, as a journalist, if you give somebody N5,000, will you feel fulfilled that you have touched his life? My friend, paying N5,000 is not the ideal thing.”
N5,000 Payment Is A Political Gimmick –Stakeholders
Some Nigerians have come out strong against the N5,000 stipend the government said it will be paying to the poorest of the moor monthly, especially the elderly ones, to cushion the effect of the economic downturn.
Many are of the opinion that rather than pay the N5,000, government should create more jobs and open the borders for goods to come into the country to boost the economy.
Mrs. Blessing Ntah, a yoghurt agent in Port Harcourt, asked: “What can that amount buy in today’s market? Just take even N10,000 to the market, you will be shocked that you will be angry with yourself that you have not bought anything reasonable with that amount of money.
“I am not totally condemning government for providing a kind of succor to the poor people. But, what I am saying in essence is that if they want to help, the amount should be a bit reasonable. Besides, let them create more employment opportunities and open up the border for goods to come in.
“We don’t produce anything in this country, yet you don’t want things to come in here. What kind of policy framework is that one? They want to stop the importation of cars. They have stopped the importation of rice. What can you produce to make up for those things that you banned?”
Onne George argued that the whole essence of the N5,000 is a face saving measure by the All progressives Congress (APC) to hoodwink Nigerians into voting them again in the 2019 general elections, which is about two years away.
“It is their campaign strategy for 2019 elections because they know that even if they bring the United Nations army to rig for them, Nigerians will resist them. What is N5,000 by the way? Is that the amount of money they use to feed their family?
“They should just forget the money. In fact, if they like, let them pay Nigerians N1 million each, there is no way they can rule this country again. These people (APC government) lack vision. They lack good policies to transform the economy of this country for good.”
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