Kogi State co-ordinator state Operating coordinating unit (SOCU) Dr. Noah Alilu says the quality of the state single social register had been rated one of the best in the country because of the transparent manner it was compiled.
Doctor Noah Who stated this during a parly with newsmen in his office in Lokoja said for this reason donor agencies across the world are likely to use the SR database for poverty and vulnerablilty reduction intervention for the citizens of Kogi State captured across the 21 local government very soon. International donor agencies like the international Labour Organization (ILO),United Nations women group, UNICEF, and African Development Bank are warming up towards this direction. Already, the National cash transfer (NCTO) of the federal government is using the data along with the National health insurance scheme of both the state and federal government have taken advantage of the register to reach out to the poor and vulnerable in the state. Just recently, Elumelu Foundation mines over 70,000 youths of Kogi State origines in the SR for possible assistance.
He commended the State government for the support so far that has led the establishment of the SR which is domiciled with the National Social Safety Net Coordination Office (NASSCO) in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Disaster Management and Social Development.
According to him, NASSCO is saddle with the targeting and coordination of social safety net (SSN) in Nigeria.
Dr Noah noted that the data is being articulated with the aim of getting resources to the those captured as the occasion demands.
The state coordinator of SOCU further emphasized that the program which is being done transparently is to ensure that the poor and vulnerable get the required support from other donor agencies across the world.
He explained that the kogi state single register had been uploaded into the National social register domiciled in the NASCO office in Abuja.
Dr. Noah noted that any organisation be it faith base, philanthropist, NGOs, and diaspora group that is determined to positively affect the lives of the poor and vulnerable in the society can use the single register that has been developed by the Kogi State SOCU across board transparently saying no community was discriminated over any paroacial considerations.
He pointed out that communities across the state have shown enthusiasm and have embraced the program because they have seen the positive impact in their lives.
According to him, the program has not come to shortchange anybody,”it is a program for life,our data has gone through litmus test across the world” he pointed out.
He explained that their data has proven itself noting that every community has a copy of the data signed by each community leader.
In his words,”we have deployed our ingenuity to ensure our success,our register has been rated as one of the best single register in the country,when the world Bank and the United Nations wanted to test run the quality of data in building a single register in Nigeria they selected kogi state”.
He concluded with encomium on Kogi State government for the tremendous support under the defunct YESSO the pioneered the establishment of the SR. He emphasize that, Kogi State is house hold name in social protection program in Nigeria. He however express the determination of the new Kogi SOCU under NASSCO of more work. He pointed out that NASSCO has indicated commitment to support Kogi State in capturing the remaining poor and vulnerable households into the SR as well as updating the age long data base to meet the current realities as some are dead and others migrated out the rural environment. Also, NASSCO is poised to embark on the development of a Rapid Response Register (RRR) for the urban poor very soon. The RRR is meant to be used to mitigate the negative impact of COVID 19 pandemic on the people.He advise Kogi Youth in particular to be patient and remain responsible as government is doing everything to make life easier.
