Ime Akpan
The wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has again rubbished the Social Investment Programme (SIP) insisting that although N500 billion was released by the federal government to assist vulnerable Nigerians, only a few had benefited from it.
It would be recalled that recently she had hauled verbal attack on SIP mentioning Kano and Adamawa states as two of the places where the SIP had no impact.
She stated that 30,000 women in Adamawa were to receive N10, 000 each, but only a few people had benefitted, despite the programme being in its third year.
She also said in Kano State, the number of people who received the minimum N5, 000 as pocket money was very few.
Mrs. Buhari also reacted to the sum of $16m budgeted for the procurement of mosquito nets saying that amount was enough to fumigate mosquitoes in Nigeria.
Speaking in Batsari, Katsina State on Saturday where she had gone to distribute relief materials to victims of banditry, she said the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state should be assisted with money from SIP.
According to NAN, the president’s wife who distributed relief materials to over 25,000 victims of bandit attacks had asked the IDPs if any of them had received the N10, 000 assistance from the programme but the response was negative.
“The SIP should go to Katsina State and give them their assistance.
“These people gave over one million votes during the general elections, they really need the assistance and they deserve to be given,” she said.
Thereafter, she expressed her frustration at the growing insecurity in the country and challenged the security agencies to live up to bidding.
“What we have seen here is beyond the strength of a state. We are not supposed to be here giving rice, milk and others items to victims of an incident during Ramadan period.
“This is a state where we got 1. 2 million votes free of charge. It is not proper for us to give highest number of votes during the general elections and allow bandits continue to kill people and keep quiet.
“The security agents should either assist to take action or allow the situation to continue until bandits finish killing our people,” she said.
She said the people of President Muhammadu Buhari’s home-state of Katsina were particularly worried that the rising spate of attacks and killings in the state was not a fitting requital for their overwhelming support for the president at the last election.
She also urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to come to the aid of the IDPs in the state.
Responding, the transition committee chairman of Batsari local government area, Alhaji Mannir Muazu, said over 18,000 people were displaced by bandits in the area.
He said 13,000 of the victims were children while the remaining 4,000 were women from 28 communities across the area.
