President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, held a high profile meeting, behind closed doors, with the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on matters pertaining to the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme, among other issues.
This became necessary in a bid to forestall the minor misunderstanding between the National Assembly and the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment Programme, Maryam Uwais, over the need for a reform of the process of implementing the programme.
Uwais had, on April 8, responded to criticisms of the programme by the legislature with allegations that lawmakers were criticising the implementation of the SIP partly because some of them tried but failed in their bid to insert the names of would-be beneficiaries.
The National Assembly, however, replied that Uwais should be “receptive to constructive ideas and suggestions expressed to enhance service delivery.”
Lawan, who spoke to journalists after the meeting at the State House in Abuja, reiterated the call for reforms in the social investment initiatives.
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He said, “This afternoon, we had an engagement with Mr President to discuss with him what we, the leadership of the National Assembly, have resolved and our opinion on various issues regarding the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria and going forward
Lawan, who spoke to journalists after the meeting at the State House in Abuja, reiterated the call for reforms in the social investment initiatives.
He said, “This afternoon, we had an engagement with Mr President to discuss with him what we, the leadership of the National Assembly, have resolved and our opinion on various issues regarding the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria and going forward
Lawan stated that, among the discussions with Buhari, was the proposition that the various donations to Nigeria should go into a single account with a management fund committee that would be in charge of releases.
Asked whether he wanted the national social register discarded, the Senate President argued that the present register was contrived by “the World Bank method,” saying the distribution should be on the basis of senatorial districts, federal constituencies, or local governments.
According to him, the implementation procedure does not precisely capture the kind of beneficiaries that ordinarily should be.
