Open Alliance, a coalition of civil society organisations
working to improve openness and accountability in governance, has called for an
immediate forensic audit of the national social register.
The call follows the concerns raised by the National Economic
Council (NEC) over the credibility of the register.
The register, comprising names of vulnerable people and
households across the country, was created for the purpose of cash transfer and
other social investment programmes.
On July 20, NEC, comprising the 36 state governors and led
by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, resolved to discard the register for
“lacking credibility” and agreed that states should develop their own registers
using formal and informal means.
However, the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office
(NASSCO) said the register is an aggregation of state registers.
Reacting to the development, the CSO coalition, in a
statement issued on Friday by Bolarinwa Iyanuoluwa, its national coordinator,
expressed concern about the effectiveness of the whole scheme.
The CSOs argued that a forensic audit of the register is
needed to determine its authenticity and “give Nigerians the details of the
criteria for selecting the beneficiaries on the register”.
The Open Alliance said it also wants the government to
uncover if the people in charge of the register have “siphoned the country’s
public funds and determine the consequences of this is true”.
It added that to bridge the trust gap between the government
and its citizens, an independent body must immediately carry out a forensic
audit, and the government must make public the criteria for determining the
eligibility for inclusion, and provide clarity on the selection process.
“Open Alliance believes open and transparent governance is
fundamental to building a solid and equitable society. By conducting a forensic
audit and being transparent about the criteria and selection process, we can
safeguard the interests of citizens and uphold the principles of fairness and
accountability,” the statement read.
It called on NEC to respond quickly to the concerns raised
to enable an inclusive and transparent disbursement of the palliatives for poor
and vulnerable Nigerians.
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