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The Federal Government and the Ondo State Government have begun moves to validate beneficiaries of the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Cash Transfer Programme in the state, in a bid to strengthen accountability and improve the effectiveness of social intervention delivery.
Ondo State Governor, Dr Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, made this known while receiving the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Mr Bernard M. Doro, during a courtesy visit to his office in Akure. The governor said stronger collaboration between the Federal Government and sub-national governments is essential for the successful implementation of social welfare programmes, stressing that impact is usually greatest when policymakers work closely with structures closest to the people.
Governor Aiyedatiwa commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the Household Prosperity and Cash Transfer Programme under the Renewed Hope Agenda, describing it as a major humanitarian intervention targeted at vulnerable households across the country. He disclosed that Ondo State had recorded 396,671 beneficiary households across the first, second and third tranches, with selected beneficiaries from the 18 local government areas now being engaged to provide direct feedback on implementation and impact.
The governor also raised concern over difficulties linked to National Identification Number registration for some beneficiaries and directed relevant officials to intensify efforts to reach affected persons, especially those already captured on the social register, to ensure proper data updates and seamless payment.
In his remarks, Minister Bernard Doro said the visit to Ondo formed part of a nationwide review of the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Cash Transfer Programme. He explained that the intervention has delivered ₦75,000 in three tranches to poor and vulnerable households across the country and that more than 9.2 million households nationwide have benefited so far, with about ₦688 billion disbursed under the programme.
According to the minister, Ondo State has received about ₦9.9 billion under the intervention through successive payment cycles covering the first, second and ongoing tranches. He added that randomly selected beneficiaries in the state would be engaged directly to confirm receipt of funds and offer feedback that could guide future policy adjustments.
Doro, however, expressed concern over what he described as low public awareness of the programme despite its wide coverage, stressing the need for better communication and transparency in social protection delivery. He said the Federal Government is already working on a redesigned social protection framework, noting that grassroots engagement remains critical to making future interventions more responsive to the actual needs of citizens.
He described the exercise as a data validation process aimed at improving targeting, strengthening accountability and enhancing the effectiveness of federal welfare programmes across the country.
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Oyetoke Adedayo Ebenezer
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