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Tag: Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq

  • FG begins disbursement N130m grant to vulnerable persons

    FG begins disbursement N130m grant to vulnerable persons

    The Federal Government has begun the disbursement of N130 million grant to 6,511 vulnerable persons in the 34 local government areas of Katsina State on Thursday.

    Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, flagged off the disbursement.

    She said beneficiaries were selected through the Grant for Vulnerable Groups (GVG) programme of the Federal Government.

    “GVG was first introduced in 2020 as Grant for Rural Women to sustain the social inclusion agenda of President Muhammad Buhari’s administration for the poor and the vulnerable.

    “The project is consistent with the president’s agenda of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

    “GVG provides a one-off grant of N20,000 to some of the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas in the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT.

    “This is to empower beneficiaries to improve their productivity and grow their commercial activities to ease them out of poverty,’’ she said.

    The minister stressed that Katsina State’s grant is one of the highest in the country taking into account the impact of insurgency, banditry and the large number of Internally-Displaced Persons in the state.

    “The president directed that 70 per cent of beneficiaries must be women, while the remaining 30 must be youths.

    “He also directed that a minimum of 15 per cent of the beneficiaries must be citizens with special needs, including Persons with Disability and senior citizens.

    “It is expected that beneficiaries will use the grant judiciously to improve their productivity, create wealth, generate employment and improve their standards of living,’’ the minister said.

    Umar-Farouq said she was also in Katsina State for the roll out of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP 2.0).

    “The programme is designed to create more opportunities and loans for the poor, the vulnerable and low-income Nigerians involved in viable informal productive activities with limited financial requirements.

    “It gives priority to the most vulnerable, especially widows, youths, the disabled and the displaced.

    “GEEP has three unique products: `TraderMoni loan’, `MarketMoni loan’ and `FarmerMoni loan.

    “TraderMoni loan is N50,000 and is targeted at uplifting under-privileged and marginalised youths between the ages of 18 years and 40 years.

    “MarketMoni loan, also of N50,000 targets under-privileged and marginalised women, especially widows and divorcees, among other vulnerable groups.

    “FarmerMoni loan ranges between N50,000 and N300,000 and is designed for small-scale farmers to improve their productivity and to graduate into commercial agriculture,’’ she said.

    She added that 353,316 beneficiaries were targeted to benefit in the first phase of GEEP implementation nationwide.

    “So far 1,142,783 potential beneficiaries have been registered for the programme in the 774 local government areas of the federation.

    “In Katsina State alone, 59,161 potential ben

  • FG moves to declare Day for Senior Citizens

    FG moves to declare Day for Senior Citizens

    The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, has given assurance that a special national day for senior citizens would be declared soon.

    Farouq gave the assurance when the management team of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) led by its Director-General, Dr Emem Omokaro paid her a visit in Abuja.

    “I want to commend Omokaro for the pace at which she is settling down to work, hoping that, with the assemblage of the management team at her disposal, I am confident that the overall objectives of the NSCC will be realised soon.

    “I want to also assure the NSCC of my resolve to follow on with the request made by Omokaro, through the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies,” Farouq said.

    Earlier, Omokaro appealed for the declaration of a national day of older persons in Nigeria within the months of August and early September, 2021 to herald the first ever National Senior Citizens Day celebration in October 2021.

    “We are also requesting for assistance to the NSCC to secure the National registration of senior citizens of Nigeria (SCN) who are 70 years and above.

    “The purpose is for their effective identification for public respect, age friendly services and concessions in banking services and facilities, road, air and rail transportation services as well as health and hospital services,” Omokaro said.

    Highpoint of the visit was the formal presentation of the Communiqué issued at the end of one-day senior citizens forum maiden dialogue organised by the National Senior Citizens Centre on Aug. 3.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Senior Citizens Centre was approved by the Federal Executive Council in January 2018 while its board was constituted in June 2021.

    The centre is to cater to the social welfare of citizens aged 70 and above in areas like healthcare, pensions, income security, leisure, supplementary income and other social protection safety nets.

    As of July 2020, the National Social Register of Poor and Vulnerable Households holds data for 1, 625, 937 persons across 36 states and the FCT.

    The register showed that 48 per cent are male while 52 per cent are female.

    A further breakdown of data in the register, showed that fractions of this aged population deal with vulnerabilities including health-related issues, financial deprivation, illiteracy, and lack of basic care.

    The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has so far picked out 200,748 elderly persons nationwide from the National Social Register to benefit from the Federal Government’s Covid-19 Cash Transfer Programme.

    The National Senior Citizens Centre is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development.

  • School feeding: FG to enrol additional 5m pupils by 2023 – Minister

    School feeding: FG to enrol additional 5m pupils by 2023 – Minister

    Hajiya Sadiya Umar- Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, says the Federal Government will enrol about five million pupils into the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) by 2023.

    Farouq made the disclosure during a stakeholders meeting for the enumeration of beneficiaries and scaling up of the NHGSFP in Zamfara.

    This is contained in a statement by Mrs Halima Oyelade, Special Assistant on Corporate Communications to the Minister, on Friday in Abuja.

    “Over nine million pupils are benefitting from one free nutritious meal a day during school term nationwide.

    “Now, we have the mandate to reach an additional five million pupils by 2023.

    “With over 100,000 cooks employed and more than 100,000 small holder farmers participating in this value chain, the NHGSFP is a serious potential for socio-economic development and it needs to be strengthened, scaled up and sustained nationwide.

    “I am pleased that the Zamfara and Federal NHGSFP teams as well as key stakeholders are working jointly and closely to verify existing numbers of beneficiaries on the programme and update the records for better effectiveness, transparency and accountability.

    “To this end, while thanking the Zamfara Government for its commitment in implementing the NHGSFP, I also wish to encourage us all to do more to ensure more children benefit from this programme,” she said.

    She further explained that the NHGSFP was designed as a multi-faceted intervention to drive up school enrollment , boost nutrition of the pupils, support local production of food and encourage employment and income generation.

    “Specifically, it is aimed at the provision of one nutritious meal to all pupils in public primary schools in classes one to three”.

    She said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision to fight abject poverty was behind the decision to inaugurate the National Social Investment Programme which comprised of the NHGSFP, N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.

  • Giving unemployed Nigerians N10-N20k for two months cannot take them from poverty, Senate tells Buhari’s minister

    Giving unemployed Nigerians N10-N20k for two months cannot take them from poverty, Senate tells Buhari’s minister

    The Senate Committee on Special Duties, on Thursday, asked the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, to explain how N32.4billion allocated to her Ministry for palliatives meant to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was being spent.

    Farouq however explained to the senate committee that only N2.4billion out of the N32.4billion allocated for palliatives has been released to the Ministry.

    She said that the Ministry is presently engaged with the Ministry of Finance to get the balance N30billion released.

    The exchange between members of the Senate Committee and the Minister took place at an interactive session organised for the purpose by the panel.

    Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume and Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo had asked the minister about the impact of the palliatives distribution on the lives of poor Nigerians.

    Ndume said even though the Ministry is doing its best, what it has been doing was not enough to properly cater for the poor and vulnerable in the country.

    Ndume said: “You are not doing enough as far as poverty eradication in the country is concerned.

    “The modus operandi being adopted by your Ministry cannot in anyway help in fixing the country.

    “Humanitarian intervention should be looked at more holistically.”

    Senator Degi Eremienyo, said the palliatives given to some Nigerians by the Ministry, cannot in anyway, take them out of poverty.

    “Giving unemployed people N10, 000.00 or even N20, 000.00 for a month or two, cannot take them out of the poverty.

    “The handouts should be channelled into creation of employment for the unemployed,”Degi-Eremienyo said.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf, intervened by telling the members of the Committee that the interactive session was not on poverty eradication but on interventions made by the Ministry from the N32.4billion allocated to it for COVID-19 palliatives.

    Farouq said only N2.4billion has so far been released to the Ministry from the N32.4billion allocation.

    She said part of the N2.4billion was expended on school feeding during the lockdown and direct cash transfers made to vulnerable Nigerians across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT).

    On how she fed school children at home during the lockdown, Farouq said: “We drove to some of their homes based on addresses gathered from their Schools and also adopted the template of the United Nations of six persons per family and three children in a home.”

    She explained further that besides feeding of school children at home, other interventions such as 33,000 tonnes of rice were distributed to vulnerable Nigerians across the 36 states of the Federation.

  • Diversion of N2.67bn school feeding fund: ICPC clears air on Minister’s involvement

    Diversion of N2.67bn school feeding fund: ICPC clears air on Minister’s involvement

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has opened up on the purported involvement of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq on the diversion of the N2.67 billion school feeding funds.

    ICPC had reported that N2,67 billion meant for secondary school students in Federal boarding schools had been diverted.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the embattled minister had on Tuesday distanced herself and ministry from the alleged diversion and challenged the ICPC chair to publish names of those involved.

    However, the ICPC in a subsequent statement exonerated the minister while urging the public to disregard insinuations that its chairman was referring to the minister.

    Mrs Azuka Ogugua, spokesperson of the commission, in a statement on Tuesday said that the commission chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye’s speech was misquoted and urged the public to disregard such publication.

    Ogugua said that the commission’s chairman at its 2nd National Submit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector was misrepresented, as some reports erroneously implied that the ICPC boss was referring to Farouq.

    She said in the speech, Owasanoye stated that “we discovered payments to some federal colleges (secondary schools) for school feeding in the sum of N2.67b during the lockdown when the children were not in school.

    “And some of the money ended up in personal accounts. We have commenced investigations into these findings.

    “The Commission wishes to clarify that the “school feeding” referred to by the Chairman of ICPC was the feeding of boarding students in Federal Government Colleges who were all at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

    “This is not the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme being managed by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, ” she quoted the ICPC’s boss.

    She added that the public were hereby advised to disregard the said reports suggesting reference to the school feeding programme going on in primary schools.

  • Alleged diversion of N2.6bn school feeding funds: Buhari’s minister speaks

    Alleged diversion of N2.6bn school feeding funds: Buhari’s minister speaks

    The Minister of of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq has challenged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offence Commission, ICPC to publish the names of persons, federal colleges and school heads responsible for alleged diversion of N2.72b budgeted for School feeding during COVID-19 lockdown to private accounts.

    The Minister also challenged the anti-corruption agency to also publish details of the accounts where the missing funds were diverted.

    The Minister said this in a statement issued by her special adviser on media, Nneka Anibeze in reaction to presentation by the Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye at the 2nd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Owasanoye had at the summit said preliminary investigation by ICPC had indicated that part of the N2.67billion budgeted for school feeding was diverted to private accounts.

    He also claim that over N2.5 billion was misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) in the ministry of agriculture and now deceased, for himself and cronies.

    But the Minister said the statement by ICPC was twisted and misinterpreted by mischief makers to mean an indictment of the Minister and Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

    But she noted that the Federal Government Colleges School feeding which the ICPC Chairman spoke about at the Summit is different from the Home Grown School Feeding which is one of the Social Investment Programmes under the supervision of the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry.

    She further noted “That the School Feeding under scrutiny is feeding of students in Federal Government Colleges across the country and is not under the Federal ministry of Humanitarian Affairs which only oversees Home Grown School Feeding for children in Primaries 1-3 in select public schools across the country.

    “That the over N2.5 billion which was reportedly misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) took place in a different ministry and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

    “That the ICPC recovered N16 billion worth of assets from the said ministry which was paid into an individual account for non-official purposes and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

    The Minister therefore described report linking her to the diversion of the funds as “malicious and unfair” while calling on ICPC to publish the names of persons, federal colleges and school heads whose names have been found to be associated with the missing funds and also freeze the accounts where the said funds were diverted.

    The Ministry also asked the general public to disregard the false reports being linked to the ministry as it is not in any way involved in the Federal Government Colleges School Feeding.

  • Buhari’s Minister marries Chief of Air Staff secretly in Abuja

    Buhari’s Minister marries Chief of Air Staff secretly in Abuja

    Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, has reportedly married Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, the Chief of Air Staff in Abuja.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the wedding is coming a year after the minister was rumoured to have married President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to a report by Daily Trust, the wedding Fatiha held on Friday, September 18, 2020, at the Maitama Juma’a Mosque in Abuja as confirmed by multiple sources.

    The report added that the event was a private affair as one of the sources disclosed that “very few people were invited to attend the wedding Fatiha because (of) the couple.”

    “Those close to them didn’t want to publicize the issue”, the source added.

    The report added that Abubakar and Farouq have been dating for “a while” as revealed by the source.

    “They have been in a relationship for a while and what happened on Friday has put to rest all the speculations about her relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari,” the source told Daily Trust.