A total of 7,019 households have been mined from the Single Register domicile in the Youths Employment and Social Support Operation (YESSO)/State Operation Coordinating Unit (SOCU) as beneficiaries of the Conditioner Cash Transfer (CCT) programme in the state.
The Coordinator, SOCU of YESSO, Mr. Olufemi Ifaturoti stated this while delivering his keynote address at the Training on Savings and Group Mobilisation (SGM) for Local Government Cash Transfer Facilitators organised by the State Cash Transfer Unit in the state Ministry of Women, Children and Social Affairs.
The training was aimed at inculcating saving habits among the grassroots dwellers across the Local Government Areas of the State of Osun.
Faturoti who lauded the state government for its unparalleled commitment to social protection programmes said, the Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s penchant for banishing poverty, banish hunger and banish unemployment through social safety net initiatives, such as O’YES, O’MEAL, AGBA OSUN, among others has attracted the World Bank and other reputable development partners.
The State Coordinator of Osun YESSO who harped on the need to ensure that poverty and all forms of vulnerabilities become a thing of the past, enjoined the participants and other stakeholders to ensure that the existing and potential beneficiaries of the social safety nets intervention are only those who are in dire need of assistance.
Expressing satisfaction about the progress made so far in the state on the cash transfer programme, he commended the good work and sense of urgency in making sure that beneficiaries receive their stipends as and when due.
Ifaturoti who is also the Director-General, Bureau of Social Services (BOSS) affirmed that a strong partnership still exists between SOCU/YESSO and Cash Transfer Unit, because the CTU has potential cash transfer benefiting households from the single register at the YESSO state operation coordinating unit.
He assured that his office would continue to avail the Cash Transfer Unit of its skills and back end support, by way of strengthening the capacity of the officers of the unit, as well as building public understanding of the importance and benefit of the Targeted Cash Transfer programme.
In their separate remarks at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Pharm. Omolara Ajayi; the State Director, National Orientation Agency, Dr. Lawrence Martins, among other speakers enjoined the participants to see the training as a call to duty and ensure that Osun comes out tall at the end of the programme.
Pharmacist Ajayi who was represented by Mrs. Ruth Omoloye, a Director in the Ministry pointed out that the workshop programme is the collaborative initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank with an effort to bridge the observed gaps in the past social protection programme.
According to her, “this workshop aims at reducing extreme poverty and bridging inequality, ensuring self-reliance, monitoring one another on saving and spending, increasing and improving households consumption as well as human capital development among the people”.
She said that the state of Osun was highly privileged to be one of the nine pilot states in Nigeria to start the cash transfer unit a year ago.
However, the participants came from almost twelve local government areas in the state, including Ayedire, Boluwaduro, Isokan, Ife-North, Ife-South, Olorunda, Oriade, Ifedayo, Ila, Ejigbo, Ola-Oluwa and Atakumosa East amongst other.
