By AUSTIN OYIBODE,
In a recent broadcast, Seun Okinbaloye, a Channels Television anchor known for his discerning approach, praised Senator Ned Nwoko of Delta North for his active legislative contributions, especially within his first 16 months in the Senate. Okinbaloye commended Nwoko’s impressive record of bills and motions, noting that his output matches what many lawmakers achieve over several terms.
“Some of the bills and motions you’ve brought forward could easily take others a full tenure or two to compile,” Okinbaloye remarked during a live interview session with Senator Nwoko. One of the senator’s notable legislative efforts includes his bill to rename the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development as the National Social Security Agency.
Explaining the bill, Senator Nwoko emphasized that the proposed agency would be data-driven, creating a comprehensive database to include all Nigerians for strategic planning and targeted social support. This transformation, he argued, would address gaps in aid distribution, ensuring that funds reach those genuinely in need rather than being diverted through nontransparent channels.
Senator Nwoko revealed that the agency he is proposing to replace the ministry is to make the ministry more data-driven where data of all Nigerians irrespective of socio-economic and political status will be collected for proper planning and documentation.
He said: "We need to have data of everyone from the units to the ward, from the local government to the state. There should be a base for everybody in Nigeria."
He said what he is advocating for has never been done before in Nigeria. He said the objective is to identify those in need from all the communities in the nation. He noted that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs has been given so much budget but the funds are not reaching the people they were meant to serve.
He said the previous stakeholders in the ministry employ means that do not connect the expected beneficiaries to the agency, hence the funds get into the wrong hands.
Arising from this, he said the agency he is proposing is to have a national database which will capture everyone irrespective of the individual's socio-economic and political status.
"It's about capturing every individual in Nigeria - civil servants, self-employed, the sick, students, the deformed and the vulnerable, the rich, the poor and all classes of people. Nigeria needs to work with verifiable information.
"We should target the disabled and the vulnerable. We must look at people who are really in need. There are many in Nigeria. This ministry has not done that.
"The ministry has been using consultants to help them compile names and N100bn is made available to them. They decide who should be given the money. Maybe to their families and friends and those who supported them. But not to those who need the money.
"With this data, we can plan Nigeria. We can plan for the vulnerable. Before releasing money to the ministry, let's fix this first," Senator Nwoko insisted.
AUSTIN OYIBODE
PUBLISHER/EDITOR
EMERALD NEWS
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