Aisha Buhari who spoke on Saturday in Abuja during an interactive programme she organised for women at the Presidential Villa, revealed that the N500bn social investment scheme has failed in the North.
The First lady who further revealed that the situation in her home state (Adamawa), as far as the implementation was concerned was pathetic, also cited Kano, a highly-populated northern state, as another example where she believed the programme failed, despite the huge funds the Federal Government budgeted for it.
Punch reported that the SIP is domiciled in the Office of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, but its direct implementation is done by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Social Investment, Mrs Maryam Uwais. However Aisha Buhari who stated that the N500bn social investment scheme has failed in North, recounted how Uwais informed her that 30,000 women would be beneficiaries in Adamawa State. According to her this is yet to come through after 4 years.
“I don’t want to raise the alarm that my state does not benefit from it, where the SGF (Secretary to the Government of the Federation) came from, I kept quiet because I don’t want people to say that I talk too much. Recently, I saw a 74-year-old man selling petty things in Kano, I asked him how much is his capital, he told me between N3,000 and N4,000. Don’t forget that we have campaigned to give the poorest of the poor N5,000 every month.
“So, I don’t know where is the social investment… Maybe, it worked out in some states. In my own state, only a local government benefited out of the 22. I didn’t ask what happened and I don’t want to know, but it failed woefully in Kano, it’s not a good sign and it’s not a good thing.”
