The Presidency has said it was
mischievous, but not entirely out of character, for the immediate past governor
of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, to condemn its TraderMoni scheme.
TraderMoni is an interest-free
N10,000 loan given to petty traders under the Federal Government Social
Investment Programme.
Fayose was quoted to have recently described the TraderMoni scheme as a direct
“re-looting of the Abacha loots”.
But reacting, the Social
Investment Programme (SIP) Response Team, Presidency, in a statement to NAN on
Thursday in Abuja, said that the issue of TraderMoni had been addressed several
times in the public space.
It said that the disbursement of
TraderMoni was transparent and direct, while the enumeration was
technology-driven.
“It is infantile for the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and Fayose to keep rehashing outright falsehood.
“It is clear from their actions
that Fayose and his cronies are bereft of workable ideas and do not have any
clear-cut agenda for their campaigns, so they have no choice but to resort to
regurgitating spurious allegations like this.
“Their resort to the unending
generation of fake news as a campaign strategy is not shocking, coming
especially from Fayose, but it is nonetheless pitiful.’’
The presidency noted that the
TraderMoni scheme was helping the lives and businesses of ordinary Nigerians
like petty traders at the bottom of the economic ladder.
It said that the scheme was
another proof that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was irretrievably
focused on improving the lives of the common man.
The presidency said that Fayose
ought to be reminded that under Buhari administration’s, N2.7 trillion had been
spent in two budget cycles on capital projects, the highest in the nation’s
history.
It said that expenses on capital
projects would not have been possible if not for the prudent management of
resources and the absence of grand corruption for which his party PDP was well
known.
“This government has been able to
do far more with less resources, than what was obtained under past
administrations, where profligacy; gross mismanagement of the country’s
resources were rife.
“Thus, Fayose’s feeble attempt to
lump the Vice President or the Buhari administration into the sordid happenings
under the PDP in past administration through spreading falsehood is not only
mischievous, but a disrespect to hardworking Nigerians in their millions who
are now enjoying the impact of the Social Investment Programmes of this
administration.
“It must be emphasised that, for
the records, the repatriated 322 million dollars is now currently being applied
to support the Buhari administration’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme
under the Social Investment Programmes.
“Part of the conditions under
which the looted funds were restored to Nigeria is that the World Bank would be
involved in over-sighting its disbursements, which is what is being done now.
“Thus, any claim of re-looting of
any kind is totally false and must be ignored by Nigerians. Fayose and his ilk
merely cry wolf where none exists; a shameless habit for which he is now well
known.’’
It said that currently, almost
300,000 Nigerians in 21 states were benefitting from the CCT, where they
received a monthly stipend of N5,000.
It said that the beneficiaries
were registered in the National Social Register across these states and the
process of selecting beneficiaries was transparent.
“It is based on the World Bank’s
Community Based Targeting whereby the different communities themselves identify
the beneficiaries in a transparent process that is open to review and public
auditing, even by Fayose, if he chooses to be that reasonable.
“That the vice president is
championing the scheme across the states is because of the commitment of the
administration to the common man and to ensure effective implementation.
“It obviously appears that the
PDP are riled by the impact of the TraderMoni scheme, where over 1.2 million
petty traders are beneficiaries at the last count.
“The disbursement process of the
TraderMoni loans is transparent and direct, while the enumeration is
technology-driven, whereby enumerators meet traders at their business locations
to get their data, which includes names, phone number and account number.’’
The presidency also explained
that the process was largely tied to a phone number which also doubled as a
mobile money wallet.
It said that the registered phone
numbers were then credited with the loan via a mobile money platform, from
which the agents transferred the money to the beneficiary’s bank account or
give physical cash of N10,000 in cases where no account existed.
“The Bank of Industry facilitates
the loan disbursements in partnership with third-party agents to ensure
transparency, accountability and efficiency of the process.
“What is reassuring is that
Nigerians are aware of the desperation of people like Fayose, who are rehashing
old, baseless and worn-out allegations because they really have nothing to
offer Nigerians, nor any shard of honour left to their names.’’ NAN quoted the
statement as saying.
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