By Stephen Adeleye.
The Kogi State Office of Social Investment Programme (SIP), said it had commenced the enrollment of additional 23, 440 beneficiaries under the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) in the state.
Mrs Falilat Abdulrazaq the Head of CCT Unit, spoke to journalists on behalf of the State Focal Person of SIP, Mr Abdulkareem Onyekehi, after a two-day Step Down training program for Cash Transfer Facilitators (CTFs) in Lokoja.
According to her, Kogi SIP has received approval for onboarding of additional 23, 440 CCT beneficiaries which would receive household supports of N5,000 monthly.
”We have 23, 440 beneficiaries that has just been approved, which will be added to the existing 11, 513 people who are already benefitting from the CCT program,” Abdulrasaq said.
She restated that the CCT, targeted to uplift the poorest of the poor households, would now be increased to a total of 34, 953 beneficiaries in Kogi State.
She said that the two-day step down training program was organised to train Cash Transfer Facilitators (CTFs) on data and biometric capturing of the enrollees at their respective wards in the rural areas.
”CTFs training is on the use of application and enrollment template which was carried out by National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Management Information System (MIS) Officers from Abuja.
”The training is for 218 CTFs from all the 21 local government areas of the state but the enrollment of intending beneficiaries would be in batches.
She said that the CTFs would commence enrollment of fresh beneficiaries in the earmarked communities in the seven LGAs as from Monday June 24.
The LGAs to be covered in the first batch include: Lokoja, Dekina, Okene, Kabba-Bunu, Adavi, Ofu and Ibaji LGAs, while other LGAs will be covered as soon as their data is made available.
She noted that the CCT had impacted of lives many indigent people positively since it started about three years, saying it has lifted many out of poverty.
She added: ”Across the length and breadth of the state we have testimonies of success stories from our beneficiaries where we are intervening”.
She, however appealed to LG Administrators in the state to provide motorcycles, rain boots and rain coats for CTFs to ease their movement for effective enrollment, while commending those few Administraors that had made provision for the CTFs.
Mr Shimang Shirkfu, an Enrollment Officer with Household Uplifting Programme, Abuja, told newsmen that the participants had been trained on how to effectively enrol beneficiaries into the CCT programme.
According to Shirkfu, the focus is on the content of the programme that would enable the communities to be properly informed about the aim and objective of the program.
”We have built the capacity of the CTFs especially in the area of community mobilisation and sensitisation.
”The participants have been fully equipped with information to cascade into all the communities that are participating in this program,” Shirkfu said.
One of the participants, Mr Abdulsalam Muktar, the Desk Officer, CCT, Okene LGA, said they had been trained on how to mobilise and sensitise the beneficiaries of CCT program for enrollment.
”This training has boosted our knowledge on the job. Before now, it was manual registration, but it has now been digitised which makes it more faster to enrol more beneficiaries within a short time.
”We urge the government to continue this program because it has impacted the lives of many of the poorest of the poor in our society,” Muktar said.
Another participant, Mrs Florence Achobah, the Desk Officer, CCT, Idah LGA, to NAN that the training has improved their skills and knowledge on the job, saying it would make the field work to be more easier for them.
