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.
The Minister who was represented by the National Coordinator NSIP, Dr Umar Bindir said that the aim of the training programme is to introduce 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 fulfil 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 needs 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”.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Dr Nasir Sani- Gwarzo who was represented by the Director of Finance of the Ministry Mr Matthew Dada welcomed the participants to the training and urged them to take advantage of the opportunity to improve their digital skills.
The Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Nigeria. Dr Garba Abari in his remark also lauded existing partnerships with the Ministry and urged participants to make inputs that will add more value to the programme.
The theme of the three-day training session is “rethinking and redesigning processes in the age of technology for better delivery. Disbursement of loans is expected to commence immediately after enumeration.