The Kwara State Focal Person for the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) Mrs Bashirah AbdulRazaq Sanusi has denied saying that the scheme has no records of beneficiaries of the popular Trader Moni.

In a statement issued in Ilorin on Friday, the Focal Person described the report as false and urged members of the public to disregard it.

“The attention of the Office of the Focal Person of the NSIP in Kwara State Mrs Bashirah AbdulRazaq Sanusi has been drawn to a report in some news media which erroneously quoted her as saying that there were no records of beneficiaries of Trader Moni in Kwara State,” the statement quoted her as saying.

“The report was embarrassingly false and laced with suspicious intents.

“First, the quotes so attributed to her were false and such should be discarded by members of the public. The NSIP is one of the most organised and well-documented social investment programmes that any government has ever put in place in the history of Nigeria. Not only were the details of beneficiaries properly captured in verifiable and IT-driven database, the NSIP possesses online and offline relevant information about the age, address, and other things pertaining to their identities for the sake of record.

“Second, while the Focal Person indeed spoke about the reluctance of some beneficiaries to promptly pay back, she made it clear that her office was in fact in constant touch with such beneficiaries to know how they are doing as part of the built-in mechanisms for the success of the programme. To be clear, the Office maintains an active call centre through which beneficiaries are contacted from time to time. How can you be in constant touch with somebody whose data you do not possess? That would be contradictory.

“The Office of the Focal Person therefore denies ever saying those who disbursed the money did not have the contact details of the beneficiaries. That is not true.

“Members of the public should kindly ignore such mischievous report. The success of the NSIP is glaring to the blind as it has impacted hugely in the lives of Nigerians especially the previously underserved and vulnerable members of the society.

“Once again, the Office of the Focal Person distances itself from the misleading claims, and urges members of the public to disregard the report. The people and government of Kwara State indeed acknowledge and commend the success of this unique pro-masses’ programme of President Muhammadu Buhari and that explains why the state government has successfully replicated same to serve the people of Kwara State.”