Benue has benefited N6bn on social investment programme ― Ortom

BENUE State Governor, Samuel Ortom has declared that Benue state had benefited about six billion naira (N6,000,000,000) from the Federal Government Social investment Programme since it commenced in the state.

Ortom said that the programme had impacted positively on the lives of many people in the state, adding that the programme had improved the condition of living of many families, encouraged children to go to school, thereby increasing the number of enrollment to schools.

The governor stated this yesterday when he received the special adviser to the president on social investment programs.

He further hinted that the programme had brought development into the state stating that the state government will continue to support the programme for the overall benefit of the people.

“The social investment Programme since its inception in the state has impacted positively on many lives.

“As a state, we will continue to ensure that we support the programme for the benefit of the people.

“We look at it as an investment into the future of our children. “The challenge we had encountered previously in the programme in the state has been taken care of and what happened will no longer repeat itself.

Speaking earlier, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Social Investment Programme, Mrs Maryam Uwais, said that Benue office of the Federal government Home Grown School Feeding Program had over bloated the numbers of beneficiaries in the state and diverted the fund meant for the program.

Mrs. Uwais who was addressing the governor lamented that the federal government social investment programs particularly, the homegrown feeding was almost becoming unsuccessful in the state, due to the over bloated numbers of those recruited for the program.

She added that the money voted for the programme in the state was diverted.

She said that Benue was one of the prime states for the Social Investment Programme, she, however, commended the decision of the governor to reposition the state office.

“We also have over 900 thousand cooks in Benue, but we are trying to reorganise it because we have found a lot of anomalies, in terms of the number of pupils and the number of cooks.

“The challenge is, in the beginning, the number was overbloated, because monies were being diverted, I have to be honest with you. You understand? So we have cleaned up to make sure that only the cooks that are feeding will get benefits.

“A training is also on and we will be given N10, 000 to beneficiaries who are traders, hawkers, whose ten thousand naira is meaningful to them. We are capturing them now and getting the data. We are looking at thirty thousand at least of the beneficiaries,” she said.

Mrs Uwais however, said the current State Focal Person under the instruction of the state governor had agreed to organise the process, get women that would actually cook and feed the children.