From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
A group of media and Civil Society Organizations popularly known as Jigawa Social Protection Platform has promised to track and follow up Jigawa state government’s budget, for the expansion of Social Protection Programs in the state.
The move was announced in a communique signed by the chairman of the platform and issued made it available to news men.
He explained that, the struggle which will be supported by the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) through UKAID funded programs under the Expanding Social Protection for Inclusive Development (ESPID), will focus on tracking and monitoring social protection budget as well as to engage all relevant stakeholders for expansion of the programs.
The communique also said, the platform will also work as a team of media and civil society organizations to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion among the Jigawa citizens.
The platform also promised to work hard to ensure how Social Protection System will accommodate elderly group who are about 8.8% of the population of in the state as the system is made to cover all residents in the state.
The platform supported the idea of initiating Jigawa state social pension for elderly group for the life cycle approach, as part of Jigawa state governor Malam Umar Namadi’s 12 points agenda.
“The state is composed of those who are 60 years and above, NBS 2008 & Of Jigawa state.There is evidence across Africa that social pension for elderly has been limited”,
The Platform then, urged Governor Namadi to consider poor elderly group in the existing social security arrangement as the category represents an important group that could help in further reducing the poverty in the state.
