Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu has said its ministry is partnering with the state governors to verify and update the national social register for the benefits of Nigerians.
She further disclosed that work is ongoing in partnership with the local governments’ leaders to identify people in their areas, for better management of interventions.
Edu made these known during an interview with Channels Television on Friday, while reacting to the allegation brought by the governors that the existing social register lacks credibility.
Recall that the National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, had resolved to update the register.
The NEC also agreed that states should come up with their own registers using formal and informal means.
Edu said her ministry would engage with state governors and stakeholders in the local governments to verify and expand the register.
“The first thing which we are starting almost immediately is the verification of the social register,” Edu said.
“In a couple of weeks, we have been going back and forth with the governors’ forum and several interested parties, saying ‘the register is okay and not okay. The people who are truly poor are not on the list’.
“We are going to first carry out a full verification of the social register to ensure that truly it is the poorest of the poor, those who deserve to be on that list, that are on that list.
“We are going to verify and update the social register and work with the governors so that they can own it.“We are going to work with those at the local governments so they can own it.
“And we can boldly say we know these people, these are the poorest of the poor and whatever intervention is coming, these people truly deserve it.
”The social register was created for the purpose of cash transfers and other social investment programmes.
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