Nothing To Show For Buhari’s Investment In SIP – Ndume
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, on Thursday, lamented that there was nothing on the ground to show for the huge budgetary allocation made by the Federal Government towards its Social Intervention Programme in the 2020 budget.
Ndume, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, on the implementation of the 2020 budget, urged the youths and all the intended beneficiaries of the N729bn social intervention funds, to hold government agencies accountable.
The senator said unless the youth being the beneficiaries, the civil society groups and the Media “followed the money” by asking questions on the disbursement of the funds, the aim would be defeated.
He said, “Sincerely, President Buhari has done his bit. No government has done this much for the youth. But, the beneficiaries must ask the right question of where the money is with a view to accessing them.”
Making allusion to the Federal Government’s 1,000 jobs for 1, 000 youth across each of the 774 local government areas in the country, he said such gesture had ” massive capacity to rid the street of jobless citizens.
He said, “The President has signed the 2021 budget into law and it contains a lot for the youths especially and the poor.
“As observed in last year’s N13trn budget, which was the highest level of implementation so far, we cannot see it on ground.
“So, what I’m suggesting or what I am urging the youth to do in particular, is to follow their money and ensure that the budget is not only implemented but that there is evidence on ground to show that it is actually implemented to the benefit of the people.
“I am saying this because government had recently announced over N700bn for intervention in various sectors that is supposed to be targeted towards indigent Nigerians and the vulnerable but we are yet to see some of these actions on ground.”
