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ActionAid raises alarm over plan to divert ₦121bn for elections

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ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) on Tuesday bemoaned alleged plans to divert about ₦121 billion of the funds allocated to the National Social Investments Programme (NSIP) to the 2019 general elections.

 

The organization, which said this in a statement by its country director, Ene Obi, also bemoaned attempts to tamper with social investments funds, which it said is N280 billion below the mark promised by the government.

Declaring that it ‘vehemently rejects the plan to use the NSIP funds for the 2019 general elections,” the ActionAid Nigeria called on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to work with the legislature and seek creative ways of sourcing funds for the elections

“At inception in 2016, the government promised N500billion annually, but released only N140biilion in 2017 and N80billion in 2016,” the statement read.

ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), according to the statement, “read with utmost dismay a news report on the plan to divert about ₦121 billion of the funds allocated to the National Social Investments Programme (NSIP) to the 2019 general elections.

“As an organisation that has been involved in coordination of third party monitoring of the NSIP, ActionAid Nigeria laments government’s challenges and poor planning that has led it to consider tampering with funds meant for a programme that has touched the lives of several impoverished Nigerians.”

The meals, Obi said, provided in primary schools through the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) have enriched the learning experiences of many children in Nigeria who would have otherwise gone without food the whole day.

“Many of the children in our rural communities look forward to feeding in the schools and learning – nourishment to their bodies and their minds. Having visited schools in some of the most remote parts of Nigeria and seeing little children run in to school just to have a meal for a day, and exclaiming after receiving their meal “Thank God I will eat well today” one is moved to push for the programme to continue,” the AAN said.

“The NSIP contributes to addressing the problem of out-of-school children in Nigeria and should be sustained; AAN is urging the government to release the remaining funds for the SIP to enable Nigerians fully reap the dividends of the programme.

“Several youths who would have been otherwise unemployed have had their livelihood enhanced with work as N-Agro, N-Build, N-Health and N-Tax beneficiaries. The number of N-Teach beneficiaries who find hope in imparting knowledge on children in public schools and in turn receive a stipend of ₦30,000 for a full month’s work, leaves one with a strong desire to see more youths empowered to uplift more Nigerians from poverty,” the statement read further.

“ActionAid Nigeria as an organization vehemently rejects the plan to use the NSIP funds for the 2019 general elections and calls on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to work with the legislature and seek creative ways of sourcing funds for the elections. We appeal, that Nigeria must not continue to use that which is meant for the poor but rather find more ways of creating opportunities to lift people out of poverty,” it concluded.

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