The Federal Government has fixed May 12, as commencement date for the Enumeration of Beneficiaries of the recently restructured Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme Initiative GEEP 2.0.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq made this known at the opening of a three-day Advance Training on Digitization and Registration for Programme Managers & Master Trainers of the Social Investment Programme.
A statement by her special adviser on media Nneka Ikem Anibeze quoted the Minister who was represented by the National Coordinator NSIP, Dr Umar Bindir to have pointed out the aim of the training programme to be introduction of digitization with modern software and working tools to the Programme Managers and Master Trainers.
Umar Farouq explained that GEEP has been restructured for digital compliance to enable trainers to align with the latest trends in modern technology. This she said is to fulfill President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to lift 100 million persons out of poverty.
“Poverty is an issue for our country and unfortunately, it is very high. We are on the GEEP level. We have Focal Persons of all the states and the National Orientation Agency also represented here.
“We want to have the first crack at trying to register and document all the beneficiaries in a seamless but transparent process.
“We must now learn that this pool of poor Nigerians need to be properly identified and documented”.
The minister reiterated that repayment of the interest free loan at the expiration of its tenure is a function of efficiency and success.
The Team Lead of GEEP, Zainab Musawa who presented an overview of the Advance Training on Digitization and Registration for Programme Managers and Master Trainers stated that the training will provide a comprehensive framework for the enhancement of the beneficiaries’ registration processes and implementation of digital transformation of the programme delivery throughout the GEEP 2.0 lifespan.
“While significant progress has been made regarding implementation, the Ministry has been stringent in enhancing a programme design to have a better delivery to the communities in need.
“The Ministry has been cognizant of the importance of digital processes for effective delivery results and as such, is proud to announce the digitization of the GEEP 2.0 processes and enhanced registration policies in efforts towards mandate achievement”.
However, disbursement of the GEEP loans is expected to commence immediately after the enumeration exercise.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development, Ms. Sadiya Umar Farouq, had said the loan is payable within nine months without interest and all beneficiaries would soon receive their disbursement alerts.
The Ministry will roll out the programme in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), nationwide, after which an enumeration exercise to capture beneficiaries’ biodata, would follow. This exercise followed the final verification of Phase 1 applicants who qualified and were selected for the scheme.
The GEEP 2.0 is a loan scheme designed by the federal government to provide financial inclusion and give credit access to poor and vulnerable individuals, including Persons With Disability (PWD) and persons at the bottom of the economic pyramid who are engaged in small scale commercial activities. .under its three flagship schemes: MarketMoni, TraderMoni and FarmerMoni.
Tradermoni is designed to uplift under-privileged and marginalised youths aged between 18 and 40 years in Nigeria by providing them with loans of N50, 000 while MarketMoni is focused on under-privileged and marginalised women aged between 18 and 55 years like widows, divorcees amongst other vulnerable groups.
They would get interest-free loans of N50, 000 payable between six and nine months.
FarmerMoni is for Nigerian farmers aged between 18-55 years in rural areas. They would be provided with loans of up to N300, 000 to acquire farming input. This scheme has 12 months repayment plan, which included three months moratorium and nine months repayment period.
Considering, the ravaging rate of poverty in the country, News Echo therefore enjoins the Southeastern governors to key into this rare and life uplifting opportunity for their citizenry in order to give them succour.
