Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Conference of Northern States Civil Society Networks has called on the anti-graft agencies in the country to probe the National Social Investment Programme to prosecute those who handled the funds’ disbursement.

No fewer than N500bn was spent by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for the NISP every year.

The civil society organisations from the North alleged that the programme did not achieve the desired objective going to the high rate of poverty in the northern part of Nigeria.

The group, made up of 3,000 various civil society organisations in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, stated this at a news conference in Abuja yesterday.

The Federal Government said it was spending N500bn annually.

The programme includes the N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer, CCT, and Home Grown School Feeding among others, meant to assist petty traders, university graduates, NCE holders, and other less-privileged Nigerians.

The President of the CSOs, Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya, who addressed journalists on behalf of his colleagues, lamented that the poverty level was too high despite the N500bn injected into the NSIP every year.

He said that all the 18 presidential candidates must explain to Nigerians their plans to tackle poverty.

The group said, “Considering the huge investment of this government in social investment programmes, and the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on the increased rate of poverty in the country, we beseech the leadership of Anti-graft agencies such as EFFC and ICPC to conduct a discrete investigation on the funds claimed to be disbursed by some Federal Government Ministries and Agencies to find out what has gone wrong.

“The EFCC and the ICPC should ensure that all those involved in the mismanagement of the over N500bn fund should be arrested and prosecuted.

“The investigation into this matter is significant, as there is no correlation between the funds invested in the social protection programmes and the increased rate of poverty in the country.

“The most recent figures made available by the National Bureau of Statistics referred to as Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey, have unambiguously indicated that things are worse than what they were formerly observed and predicted in 2015.

“The results of this survey amongst other issues have exposed in detail the effects of corruption in the national economic lives of the people as 63 per cent of persons living within Nigeria representing 133 million people, are multi-dimensionally poor.

“Sixty-five per cent of the poor representing 86 million people live in the North. Similarly, 35 per cent of this figure representing nearly 47 million live in the South.

“The report also stated clearly that Poverty levels across States vary significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from as low as 27 per cent in Ondo (South) to a high level of 91 per cent in Sokoto (North).

“This survey which was carried out by a government-owned agency even proved beyond reasonable doubt that the world had underestimated the poverty rating of Nigeria, as reported on World Poverty Clock.

“Riding on the above, it is becoming more evident that, the crusade against corruption in Nigeria, is most needed now more than ever, as most of the factors that contribute to the level of poverty in Nigeria are attributed to the high level of corruption in Governance as well as in other sectors of the economy.

“It is on this note, we feel the imperative need to specially acknowledge the efforts of the current leadership of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) led by a focused, energetic and vibrant young man, Abdulrasheed Bawa, the EFCC Chairman, who in his ingenuity has gradually institutionalised a whistleblowing system that has exposed several conduits of financial embezzlement among government officials (civil servants and elected officials) across the country.

“The North seemed to be taking a lead in this, no wonder the just concluded multidimensional poverty index survey placed Northern Nigeria at 65 per cent representing 86 million people, out of the total estimated multidimensional poor which stood at 133 million people in Nigeria,” Waya said.

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While stating that they will engage all the 18 presidential candidates and know what they will do to address the poverty level, the CSOs encourage the leadership of EFCC to continue on its current path of chasing the corrupt elements in and out of power irrespective of tribe, religion, and region to rid our society of corruption and to bring them to book.

He said, “We equally encourage the Commission to continue to uphold the best practices of professionalism and neutrality, and also to implore the Commission to continue to remain focused and should not allow itself to be distracted by noisemakers and politically motivated sentiments.

“While EFCC currently focuses keenly on ensuring effective trial and arrest of currency speculators and those who stashed funds for illicit purposes, we call on the attention of EFCC leadership to be alert on the after-currency redesign effects, to avoid hoarding of the new notes and other misgivings by financial institutions and politicians across the country.

“We wish to implore the leadership of the EFCC to consider using the plea bargain option to dispose of the old and long pending litigations that have been in the Courts, from 5 years above, to save public resources wasted on hiring lawyers for ligations, which many at times the defendants are set free in the end.

“As Nigerians yearn for a better Nigeria, Civil Society Organisations and International Community are closely monitoring the unfolding political happenings in the country. It is our prayer that INEC shall do everything possible to uphold its integrity to conduct credible, free, fair, and transparent elections come 2023.

“Consequently, as part of the resolve to promote the advocacy for good governance in Nigeria, the Conference is planning to engage some selected Presidential candidates for setting a development agenda that shall have the bearing of some critical issues of concern to Northern Nigeria, such as: out of school children which have now been placed at 20 million, poverty, maternal health, security and the rest.

“We hope that we shall secure the commitment of the potentially engaged presidential candidates, by ensuring that adequate priority is accorded to such development deficits through aggressive and well-defined interventions programmes to address them.

“We wish to also, consider the huge investment of this government in social investment programmes, and the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on the increased rate of poverty in the country.

“We beseech the leadership of anti-graft agencies such as EFFC and ICPC to conduct a discrete investigation on the funds claimed to be disbursed by some Federal Government Ministries and Agencies to find out what has gone wrong.

“The investigation into this matter is significant, as there is no correlation between the funds invested in the social protection programmes and the increased rate of poverty in the country. “It is pertinent to commend the efforts of the security agencies in the recent weeks for their continued onslaught on bandits and insurgents across many states in the country.

“We do hope that Federal Government shall continue to do everything possible to neutralize the bandits completely before another rainy season that gives them cover comes. We hope that this tempo shall be sustained to ensure that, security and public safety are restored in all parts of the country.”