By Mahmoud Dogara (Bauchi State Correspondent)
The Chairman Senate Commitee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Investment Programmes, Senator Lawal Yayaha Gumau, has urged state governments that are yet to key into the federal government Nigeria Social Investment Programmes, to do so in order to empower their citizens and reduce the scourge of poverty in their respective states.
The Senator who led a delegation of members of the commitee to Bauchi state on Tuesday for a Town Hall meeting organised by the Bauchi state government in collaboration with the Senate Commitee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Investment Programmes and Ministry of humanitarian affairs, said that the aim of the Town Hall meeting was to know how the NSIP has fared in the state with a view proffering solutions to the challenges of the Programme.
"I am happy that I am in your midst to rub minds with you on this laudable initiative of the federal government down there in Abuja, we don't use to hear about the problems of the Programme, we only hear the good side of it. That is the reason why we initiated this Town Hall meeting that we have started now"
"We specifically chose to come to Bauchi state because Bauchi is my state and I believe coming by myself to hear the problems will give the state the opportunity to benefit more because I have heard it directly from the focal person of the Programme in the state. I want to use this opportunity to thank the government of Bauchi state because without the active participation of the state government, we will not have achieved this feat of success in the social investment Programme in the state", he said
The Senator then urged the incoming batch C and D of the N-power Programme to plan for the future by saving from the stipend paid by the federal government as the stipends have a duration of time which is not forever.
In his address, the State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadri Mohammed, said that the Town Hall meeting was aimed at mapping out strategies towards maximizing the benefit of the NSIP Programme to the people of Bauchi state and the nation at large.
Represented by the State Deputy Governor, Senator Baba Tella, the Governor said that as part of the present administration efforts is to improve the standard of living of the citizens, adding that the goverment is making conscious effort to carry along the youths and women as priorities in executing their policies and Programmes in the state. NNL.
