No fewer than 11, 717 people have benefited from the Federal Government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme across the 21 local government areas of Kogi.

Mrs Falilat Abdulrasak, the state’s Unit Head of CCT, disclosed this at a workshop organised for the Cash Transfer Facilitators (CTFs) on Friday in Lokoja.

Abdulrasak said that 11,717 beneficiaries were presently receiving the monthly cash transfer of N5, 000 each in all the 21 LGAs compared to the initial 9, 000 beneficiaries in 12 LGAs in 2017 in the state.

“The present data is 11, 717, but the data will keep increasing as the National Social Safety-net Coordinating Office (NACO) continue to send us additional data, we will go back to the field to re-enroll those ones.

“To the glory of God there are testimonies from beneficiaries from all over the places who have started their own businesses, raise structure and improved well-being through the monthly stipend,” she said.

Abdulrasak added that 199 facilitators across the state were being trained to update their knowledge for the re-enrollment of cash transfer beneficiaries across the state.

Dr Temitope Sinkaye, the National Programme Coordinator, National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Abuja, said that they were in Kogi for re-enrollment exercise of CCT beneficiaries, saying, “It is also happening in other States.

“So, what we are doing now is to re-enroll the beneficiaries because there are one or two challenges that we want to correct and introducing new features on the devices.”

Sinkaye, who was represented by Mr Henry Ayede, the Communication Officer, noted that NCTO office had on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 in Kogi, did a refresher training for CCT Management Information System (MIS) officers from Nassarawa, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Imo and Bayelsa States

“Today, we are stepping the training down to the facilitators who are the managers of the programme at the ward level, ensuring it is implemented at the grassroots.

‘We are correcting wrong targeting because the real target is for the poor of the poorest in Nigeria.

“The facilitators will be moving to the field as from tomorrow across the 21 LGAs in Kogi to recapture and re-enroll beneficiaries,” he said.

One of the participants, Sule Yakubu from Idah LGA, told NAN that the training had further enhanced his knowledge on using technological base for enrollment.