Fayose was quoted to have recently described the TraderMoni scheme as a direct “re-looting of the Abacha loots”.
The Presidency says it is mischievous, but not entirely out of
character, for the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose,
to attack TraderMoni.
TraderMoni is an interest-free N10,000 loans given to petty traders under the Federal Government Social Investment Programme.
Fayose was quoted to have recently described the TraderMoni scheme as a direct “re-looting of the Abacha loots”.
The Social Investment Programme (SIP)
Response Team, Presidency, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said
that the issue of TraderMoni had been addressed several times in the
public space.
It said that the disbursement of TraderMoni was transparent and direct, while the enumeration was technology-driven.
“It is infantile for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Fayose to keep rehashing outright falsehood.
“It is clear from their actions that
Fayose and his cronies are bereft of workable ideas and do not have any
clear-cut agenda for their campaigns, so they have no choice but to
resort to regurgitating spurious allegations like this.
“Their resort to the unending generation
of fake news as a campaign strategy is not shocking, coming especially
from Fayose, but it is nonetheless pitiful.’’
The presidency noted that the TraderMoni
scheme was helping the lives and businesses of ordinary Nigerians like
petty traders at the bottom of the economic ladder.
It said that the scheme was another proof that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was irretrievably focused on improving the lives of the common man.
The presidency said that Fayose ought to be
reminded that under Buhari administration’s, N2.7 trillion had been
spent in two budget cycles on capital projects, the highest in the
nation’s history.
It said that expenses on capital projects
would not have been possible if not for the prudent management of
resources and the absence of grand corruption for which his party PDP
was well known.
“This government has been able to do far
more with less resources, than what was obtained under past
administrations, where profligacy; gross mismanagement of the country’s
resources were rife.
“Thus, Fayose’s feeble attempt to lump the
Vice President or the Buhari administration into the sordid happenings
under the PDP in past administration through spreading falsehood is not
only mischievous, but a disrespect to hardworking Nigerians in their
millions who are now enjoying the impact of the Social Investment
Programmes of this administration.
“It must be emphasised that, for the
records, the repatriated 322 million dollars is now currently being
applied to support the Buhari administration’s Conditional Cash Transfer
(CCT) scheme under the Social Investment Programmes.
“Part of the conditions under which the
looted funds were restored to Nigeria is that the World Bank would be
involved in over-sighting its disbursements, which is what is being done
now.
“Thus, any claim of re-looting of any kind
is totally false and must be ignored by Nigerians. Fayose and his ilk
merely cry wolf where none exists; a shameless habit for which he is now
well known.’’
It said that currently, almost 300,000
Nigerians in 21 states were benefitting from the CCT, where they
received a monthly stipend of N5,000.
It said that the beneficiaries were registered
in the National Social Register across these states and the process of
selecting beneficiaries was transparent.
“It is based on the World Bank’s Community
Based Targeting whereby the different communities themselves identify
the beneficiaries in a transparent process that is open to review and
public auditing, even by Fayose, if he chooses to be that reasonable.
“That the vice president is championing
the scheme across the states is because of the commitment of the
administration to the common man and to ensure effective implementation.
“It obviously appears that the PDP are
riled by the impact of the TraderMoni scheme, where over 1.2 million
petty traders are beneficiaries at the last count.
“The disbursement process of the
TraderMoni loans is transparent and direct, while the enumeration is
technology-driven, whereby enumerators meet traders at their business
locations to get their data, which includes names, phone number and
account number.’’
The presidency explained that the process was largely tied to a phone number which also doubled as a mobile money wallet.
It said that the registered phone numbers were
then credited with the loan via a mobile money platform, from which the
agents transferred the money to the beneficiary’s bank account or give
physical cash of N10,000 in cases where no account existed.
“The Bank of Industry facilitates the loan
disbursements in partnership with third-party agents to ensure
transparency, accountability and efficiency of the process.
“What is reassuring is that Nigerians are
aware of the desperation of people like Fayose, who are rehashing old,
baseless and worn-out allegations because they really have nothing to
offer Nigerians, nor any shard of honour left to their names.’’