The minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq has debunked the report on alleged diversion of National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) meant for entire Nigeria to Bauchi State.
A statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, yesterday in Abuja said the allegation is unfounded as the minister is focused on lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty through various NSIP programmes cutting across states.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has been drawn to a malicious and manifestly false report published by a fictitious group that calls itself the ‘APC Initiative for Good Governance’.
“The Bauchi-based group in a statement signed by one Nasiru Cigari alleged that ‘Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq diverted Social Investment Programmes meant for the entire country to Bauchi State.’
“It also accused the minister of ‘abandoning her office and relocating to Bauchi to push the political interest of her husband, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Sadique (Rtd), who is contesting the 2023 governorship of Bauchi State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).’
She, however, said that she will not be deterred by belly-aching detractors who will stop at nothing to derail the lofty Social Investment Programmes of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration whose declared agenda is to lift 100 million vulnerable Nigerians out of poverty by 2030.
She said since the creation of the Ministry in August 2019, at least 20 million Nigerians have so far been empowered through various programmes and initiatives of the Ministry.
She said, “This includes the upskilling of 1,064,774 youths in the graduate and non-graduate programmes under the N-Power scheme, of which the number of beneficiaries in Bauchi state ranked 11th out of the 36 states and the FCT.
“The highest number of beneficiaries are from Benue, Delta, Enugu, FCT, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, and Rivers states before Bauchi.”
Continuing, she said: “Under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, a total of 9.9 million children from primary 1 to 3 in 53,000 public schools nationwide are currently being fed one hot nutritious meal every school day, with Bauchi state being the 4th highest in terms of benefitting number of primary schools behind Kano, Benue and Kaduna states. In addition, Kano state has the highest number of children being fed, followed by Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Jigawa, and Benue before Bauchi.
“The Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary, recently flagged off the Cash Grant for Vulnerable Groups on July 4, 2022 in Oshogbo, Osun state. The faceless group may wish to explain to its followers, why Hajiya Sadiya Farouq did not start the distribution of Cash to Vulnerable Groups in Bauchi State.
“Sadiya Umar Farouq is a detribalised Nigerian politician, mother and wife, philanthropist and devout Muslim. She spreads love evenly to the poor and vulnerable regardless of their state of origin, tribe, or religion.
“Ordinarily, the Ministry would not have expended its time and energy or give credence to the malicious report by responding to this hopeless group of detractors, but for the sake of putting the records straight.”
She said Farouq is a native of Zamfara state and married to a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Sadique and by virtue of her marriage to an indigene of Bauchi state, the full rights of any Bauchi woman have been bestowed on her.
“Therefore, the unregistered and unknown APC Initiative for Good Governance group cannot stop her from reaping or sowing the seeds of development in her husband’s state to the extent of its rightful share from the Ministry she heads, neither can their mischievous falsehood prevent her from supporting the political interest of her husband.
“At no time did Umar Farouq divert Social Investment Programmes meant for the 36 states and the FCT to Bauchi, nor did she ever abandon the responsibilities in her office to relocate to Bauchi. On the contrary, she has been working tirelessly and assiduously to ensure that no vulnerable Nigerian is left to go hungry, and to also lift them higher than where she met them.
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