The Commissioner for Youth and Sports for the State of Osun, Mr. Yemi Lawal, has discountenanced claims that the government’s conditional cash transfer to vulnerable is partisan.
Lawal, speaking in an interview on Rave 91.7 FM, affirmed that beneficiaries of the scheme in the State have no political affiliations, but were selected based on the World Bank’s validated social register for the State.
According to him, “the distribution was made based on the social register validated and updated by the World Bank every year, after undergoing due processes, and focal persons were sorted to research the most vulnerable individuals in all communities.
“The less privileged’s list has been available since way back 2014, verified by necessary authorities, including The World Bank, and reviewed yearly. The list is therefore not a new one”, he added.
The monthly stipend, according to him, is basically for the less privileged. He informed that the disbursement method initially adopted was through giving of physical cash, but that the government came up with a policy, after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the State, that money should henceforth be dispatched via bank accounts.
Addressing the innuendos that the government’s intervention at this period is political and party-based, Lawal said that: “the list has nothing to do with politics or any political party. It is there for everyone to confirm. It’s strictly for the less privileged/vulnerables. The officials who compiled the list are not party members. Infact, some of them came from the World Bank.”
Commenting on the mode of distribution, Lawal said that “15,289 aged beneficiaries for the conditional cash transfer had received N 20,000 for 3months, while 10,618 beneficiaries for the public workfare (for youths) had received N 22,500 for 3months”.
Further, Lawal said that he had personally supervised 24 out of 31 local government to ensure that money is disbursed to the rightful beneficiaries.
Commenting on what the youth ministry in the State is doing to engage the Youths, Lawal said that: “the Youth ministry is coming up with different programmes to engage the youth and maximize talents. The Governor is doing everything humanly possible to ensure the youths in the state are well engaged in sporting activities. But for the Covid-19, many sporting activities would have been ongoing in the state of Osun.
“Immediately after the Covid-19 pandemic, a registration portal will be opened for the youths in the State to fill in their occupation. This would help the government to know how to appropriately engage them”, he added.
Speaking on the State Government’s ambition for the Youths, Lawal mentioned that: “The State Government of Osun, under the leadership of Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, will continue to look after the welfare of its citizens and has the interest of the youths at heart.
“Plans are already in place for every youth in the State. We are therefore imploring them to get vocational training in one sector or the other – like agriculture for instance”, he added.
