Ogun state cash transfer unit exonerates self over community’s allegation of deceitful programme implementation

The Ogun State Cash Transfer Unit under federal government Safety Nets Scheme (SNS) has exonerated itself on allegation by some of the residents of Aya Community near Camp Area at Odeda local government area of the state, that they are being deceived in implementation of cash transfer programme .

Penpushing reports that Director of the State Programme Manager (SPM), Funmi Baker made the clarification in a statement on Wednesday, explaining that Safety Nets Scheme (SNS) is not the same as or synonym to cash transfer programme

‘It was learnt that a community leader, Mr. Kayode Bello and some of the residents of Aya Community near Camp Area at Odeda LGA in Ogun State claimed that Officials of the Cash transfer Programme came to capture their biodata in June, 2025 but failed to release their promised benefits in August 2025 so as to enable them get some items for their wards in the new academic session’, she noted.

Penpushing further reports that in response to the allegation, she explained that there are many programmes running concurrently under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Abuja through the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA).

The Director added that National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) is a Nigerian federal government agency responsible for coordinating and implementing the country’s National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP).

Penpushing also reports that she explained that this include initiatives like N-Power (A youth empowerment initiative), National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) that is targeted to Feeding school children.

The Director in addition said it include Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) that Provides direct financial support to vulnerable households, and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) which focuses on empowering small-scale businesses

‘To start with, it is very important to correct that the Safety Nets scheme is NOT the same as or synonym to CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMME. In the same vein, the Federal Government through the National Social Safety-Nets Programme (NASSP) in 2016 established the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) and the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) to achieve the goals and purposes of creating the Cash Transfer Programme’, she stated.

‘For clarity, the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Abuja is a federal government organisation with the mandate to establish the building blocks for the delivery of targeted transfers and livelihood supports to extreme poor and vulnerable households in Nigeria by empowering Nigeria’s most vulnerable communities through the National Social Register (NSR); while the National Cash Transfer Office, Abuja is the Nigerian government agency responsible for the National Cash Transfer Programme and provides direct financial support to poor and vulnerable households in Nigeria to reduce poverty and build human capital’.

‘The NCTO manages the implementation and oversight of these conditional cash transfers, working with state-level and local government units to enroll beneficiaries from the National Social Register (NSR) and ensuring payments are made through a digitized system. Fast-forward, note that the Federal Government has carried on with the National Social Safety-Nets Programme Scale Up (NASSP-SU) since 2023 using the existing structure (i.e., NASSCO/SOCU/CBTT and NCTO/SCTU/CFs) for its operation and functionality’.

Penpushing reports that Baker emphasized that it was need to be cleared that if the complainants at Odeda Communities were claiming that those unidentified federal Officers came in June 2025 for their biometric data capturing, then, those being referred to are definitely not from the Ogun State Cash Transfer Unit or Desk Office situated at that Local Government.

‘This is because we, at the Cash Transfer Office, did NOT go to field to enrol any Poor and Vulnerable Households (PVHHs) within the specified month or any month in the year 2025’, she stated.

‘For emphasis, the last time Officers implementing the Cash Transfers Programme in Ogun State carried out enrolment of Beneficiaries was in January 2024 and the 28,928 PVHHs successfully captured/enrolled had started receiving their entitlements (conventional debit cards loaded with N75,000 each) in Batches, from September/October, 2024 till January, 2025’.

‘As a matter of fact, a solid plan is already in top gear for implementers of the Cash Transfer Programme to embark on another round of debit cards distribution to the remaining Beneficiaries that were captured/enrolled in 2024 throughout the nooks and crannies of the 20 LGAs of Ogun State’.

‘It is imperative to mention that the design of the governance structure of the NASSP-SU would NOT make it possible for any State or Local Government Cash Transfer Programme’s implementers (in Ogun State, not to talk of Odeda LGA) to be promising prospective beneficiaries what he or she has no jurisdiction or power to do for no reasons’.

‘Hence, l can boldly state that NONE of the Cash Transfer Officials in Ogun State would dare raise such false hope through the unholy promise to the cash transfer beneficiaries in Ogun State. Note for your record, the project design had spelt out clearly individuals’ schedules as well as the information dissemination channels, and it is, no doubt, very straightforward’, Baker emphasised.

‘At this juncture, permit me to clear that the Cash Transfer Programme’s design ensures that implementers are drafted from all the three tiers of governments throughout Nigeria (i.e., national, state, and Local Government levels)’.

‘Having said that, the officers working on the cash transfer programme in Odeda LGA are intact as well as those in the remaining 19 LGAs of Ogun State. These Officers were officially seconded to the programme by the Ogun State Local Government Service Commission, and they are still actively working round the clock for effective and efficient implementation of the Cash Transfer Programme in Ogun State’.

‘To this end, it has become unavoidable for this office to clarify the public on the misconception that our officers are NOT the ones the online publication was referring to and also correct as follows:

‘His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, is committed to his promises and no doubt, doing everything possible to keep his words to the good people of Nigeria’.

‘For example, Cash Transfer Programme started off in 2016 with N5,000 per month for selected beneficiaries under the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, and His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR came on board in 2023 with a good heart by not scrapping the Programme, rather he graciously increased the grant to N25,000 per month for 3months for each selected beneficiary’.

‘In Ogun State, over 80,000 PVHHs had benefitted in the Direct Cash Transfer Programme. His Excellency Prince Dapo Abiodun MFR, CON is also a people-loving Governor of Ogun State who will not allow any Government Officials (be it Federal, State or Local Staff) to bambooze the residents of Ogun State under his watch’.

‘As earlier explained, the Cash Transfer Programme started in Nigeria in 2016, and Ogun State did not key into the Programme until 2020 under the Administration of His Excellency Prince Dapo Abiodun MFR, OCON. As a matter of fact, the Cash Transfer Programme is a grant and not a loan. Hence, the buy-in of the Ogun State Governor into the Programme had so far attracted/accrued financial benefits to selected beneficiaries in Ogun State. In a lighter mood, you can easily get the arithmetic when you multiply #75,000 with the number of the beneficiaries in Ogun State earlier mentioned’

‘The implementers of Cash Transfer Programme in Ogun State (both in the State and local governments) are very committed to carrying out their duties as designed by the Project Office, Abuja in the Project implementation Manual’, Baker

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