By Stephen Adeleye
The Federal Government has disbursed another round of payment of two months' arrears of stipend to each of over 74,000 beneficiaries in Kogi State, under its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme.
The CCT is the disbursement of N5,000 monthly stipend to the poor and vulnerable households under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) of the Federal Government.
Hajia Falilat Abdurasaq, the Head of Kogi State CCT Unit, disclosed this to journalists at the payment venue at LGEA School, Mopo, Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Area.
She noted that the Federal Government had recently introduced digital mode of payment of stipends to beneficiaries to replace the usual table payment.
She added that the Federal Government had in August, disbursed N20,000 stipend to each of over 74,000 beneficiaries in the state, for January to April 2021 arrears.
She added that the payment of N10,000 to each beneficiary, for stipends' arears of May and June 2021, commenced on Thursday Oct. 7, and has been completed.
She stressed that the essence of the cash transfer was to fulfill President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
Abdulrasaq commended the federal government for digitalising the payment, saying it was a great relief to the beneficiaries and CCT officials considering the challenges encountered during table payment.
According to her, the disbursement is digitalised to mitigate the risk involved in carrying huge cash about, and gathering of many vulnerable old women in one place and under harsh weather condition.
She further commended the efforts of the National Programme Coordinator, Hajiya Halima Shehu; and the Honourable Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, for initiating the digital payment and esuring a hitch free processes.
Also speaking, Mr Stephen Mohammed, the Team Lead of Fortis Mobile Money, a company responsible for disbursement of CCT in Kogi, earlier told NAN at one of the Cash-out point in Lokoja that the digital payment had come to stay.
''We are no longer test running the digital payment but it has come to stay; though beneficiaries seem not to understand, but we will not relent to keep educating them.
''We are sensitising the beneficiaries on the need to accept and adopt the digital payment of their stipends, but sometimes change is difficult.
''We will keep educating the beneficiaries because of their level of understanding until they adapt to the system'', he said.
According to him, the beneficiaries can now walk into any available Fortis Agent or point of sales (POS) stand to cash out their stipends without any form of stress.
He added that Fortis Mobile Money, had developed an App, that would help beneficiaries to stay at the comfort of their homes and access the money in their wallet.
He emphasized that the beneficiaries could also access their money anywhere in the country irrespective of their location unlike before when it was table payment at a designated centre.
''Another benefit is that if beneficiaries missed their stipend in any cycle, the money will still be in their wallet.
''But before, once beneficiaries missed their payment they would not be able to get it again for that cycle, because no arrears'', Mohammed said.
Some of the beneficiaries, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for alleviating the suffering of the poor and the vulnerable at the grassroots.
Two beneficiaries, Mrs Lydia Babatege and Emiola Matthew both from Isanlu, in their separate interviews expressed their gratitude to the federal government for remembering the aged, the poor and widows in the society.
Sefiyat Osagada, a top-up beneficiary, who cashed out her stipend in Adavi LGA, commended the federal government for the disbursement, saying the top-up fund had helped her child to access healthcare services as well as completing the routine immunization.
