From Okwe Obi, Abuja

The Federal Government has trained and engaged 58 independent monitors to watch over the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) in Enugu State for a period of one year.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, who presented engagement letters to the inspectors, charged them to invest their best so that the scheme would be successful.

Represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Rachael Oraeluno, the minister said the monitors were singled out for the assignment out of many others following a very rigorous training and selection methods.

In a statement by her Special Adviser on Media, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the minister said: ‘The Ministry reserves the right to disengage an Independent Monitor for misconduct or noncompliance with set guidelines and directives.

‘I hereby urge you to carry out this assignment with the utmost sense of patriotism, diligence and sincerity.’

Enugu State NSIPs Focal Person Dr Ogbonna Chukwuka encouraged them to be steadfast and committed to their duties.

Dr Chukwuka explained that the introduction of monitors in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was a way of ensuring effective and smooth operations of the Social Investment programmes.

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He said NSIPs was established after careful research by President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration on ways of alleviating poverty in the country.

‘The social challenges in our country premeditated these steps, hence the decision to innovatively take proactive and decisive measures in fighting the effects of abject poverty and its attending consequences.

‘Tn its implementation, the NSIP is strategically designed to fully involve all stakeholders most especially the State Governments,’ he stressed.

According to him, the monitoring exercise is a test and opportunity for youths to be involved in nation-building.

The monitors received configured tablets for the monitoring and evaluation purposes of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, NHGSF, N-Power, Government Empowerment Enterprise Programme GEEP and the Conditional Cash Transfer CCT.

Aside from commending the efforts of the Minister, the State Director, National Orientation Agency, Aneke Anthony stated that the Federal Government has moved from rhetorics to evidently impacting on the lives of vulnerable Nigerians.

During the one year engagement, the observers will earn a monthly stipend of N30,000 each based on their expected return on variables.