The Oyo State government on Monday recommenced the payment of the Federal Government-Assisted Conditional Cash Transfer to beneficiaries across the 33 local government areas of the state.
The payments of cash to beneficiaries, which will extend to other local government areas in the state kicked off at Ibadan South West Local Government Area headquarters, Aleshinloye and Ona Ara Local Council Development Area, LCDA, secretariat, Akanran.
A release, signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Bunmi Babalola, state that other local government areas monitored were Ibadan North West, Ibadan North East, Egbeda, Lagelu, Akinyele, Afijio, Ido, Ibarapa East and Ibarapa Central.
Speaking with newsmen during the monitoring exercise, the Head of Unit in the state, Mr. Ezekiel Oladipo, said that the programme started in Oyo State in 2016 and about 13,813 beneficiaries across the 33 local government areas have been benefiting since inception.
Oladipo said, “The existing structure of Youth Empowerment and Social Operations, YES O, qualified the state to be one of the eight states that started the programme in 2016.
“There is an agency that is working for World Bank which is called State Coordinating Unit, SOCU, that populated the register based on the criteria laid down by World Bank and it was done through the local government areas.”
Oladipo explained further that the programme has three major components, which is designed to deliver timely and accessible cash transfers to beneficiary households.
“The Conditional Cash Transfer supports the poor and vulnerable with N5,000 per month, to improve consumption with the aim of reducing poverty, preventing the vulnerable households from failing further down the poverty line and building their resilience to withstand shocks, while the Top-Up cash transfer incorporates benefits linked to the participation of selected households in activities which is focused on human capital development and sustainable environment through adherence to specified conditions known as co-responsibilities with four broad areas of health, education, nutrition and environment.
“The livelihood support activities facilitate graduation of beneficiaries out of poverty, thereby making them financially independent, which is fundamentally focused at enabling beneficiaries to establish a sustainable means of livelihood.”
Oladipo said that the payment is the backlogs of six months from July to December 2020, adding that some beneficiaries received CCT of N30,000, while some were paid N50,000 which is Top-Up.
In their separate remarks, the Executive Chairman, Ona Ara Local Government, Hon Sanusi Adesina and his counterpart in Ido Local Government Area, Hon Sherif Adeojo, appreciated the Federal Government for the laudable gesture.
Promising to continue to support the downtrodden in the society through various empowerment programmes, the duo equally advised the beneficiaries to take care of their health and ensure the judicious use of the cash given unto them.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, a petty trader from Ibadan South West Local Government Area, Mrs Tawakalitu Tajudeen; a fashion designer from Ona-Ara Local Government Area, Mrs Abosede Atunbi; Mrs Falilatu Sumonu from Ibadan North West, Mrs Kosenatu Olalere from Ibarapa East and Mrs Temilade Busi from Ibarapa Central thanked the Federal and state governments as the scheme will prevent them from falling further down poverty line.
