Don’t Use National Social Register Project to Empower Your Parties, CDHR Tells Govs

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The Committee for The Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Osun State chapter, has called on all the 36 states governors not to use National Social Register project as a means to empower members of  their various political parties, but see it as a project of national interest.

The National Economic Council (NEC) had last week  resolved to do away with the national social register adopted by the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration over integrity issues.

Reacting to this development, CDHR in a statement signed yesterday  by its State Chairman, Comrade Emmanuel Olowu and made available to journalists in Osogbo, Osun State capital, charged the governors to ensure transparency play before, during and after creating the Nation Social Register in their various States.

Olowu urged the all civil society organizations(CSOs),  non-government organizations (NGOs), political parties, religious association, informal workers among others to rise from their slumber to ensure that the governors of their states do not use the process as a means of building their political
parties.

He asked them to ensure that government carries all structures along for proper data generation of the poor and the poorest in their state.

 The statement read in parts;  “The resolution of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held on the 20th of July 2023 headed by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja makes it imperative that we make our stand clear to the Nigerian people and to call the attention of the bodies representing the poor of the poorest in each state to ensure that state governor does not see the process of the mandate given to them as a means of empowering their political structure.

“The resolution of the NEC further affirmed the level of nepotism under the administration of  formal president Mohammed Buhari  reflecting how opportunities and privileges meant for the entire Nigerian people were accrued to citizens who are a close affiliate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) or some politicians within the Buhari administration, the dignitaries at the meeting said the current National Social Register created under the Buhari administration failed integrity test which was further described as been bogus and fathom.  

“It is therefore, important that we further reiterate our position on  the N8,000 proposed palliative to 12 million poor of the poorest in Nigeria, it is nothing but another economic waste as the past administration wasted the resources of the country and further subjecting the nation to serious debt.  

“Since the federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Hammed Tinubu, has chosen to be adamant, despite the warning of the Nigerian people over the journey of another economic waste his government is about embarking on is a signal that another General has assumed leadership.

“However, for the sake of a well-documented and prudent National Social Register, we are using this medium to inform all state governors that transparency should be key and transparency can come to play when the  mandate given to them to create a Nation Social Register is  seen as a project of national interest and not of political interest.

“We hereby urge all the state governors not to see it as a means of empowering their various political parties by just imputing their names into the National Social Register.”