The Director General of the Benue State Budget and Economic Planning Commission, Professor Jerome Andohol, has commended the International Labour Organization, ILO, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and the European Union, EU, for their collaboration in delivering the TRANSFORM training program in the state.
Speaking at the closing of the 5-day training for local government officials on TRANSFORM Leadership and Capacity Building on Social Protection Friday at Batoha Resort, Makurdi, Professor Andohol said the program was made possible through a joint effort, with ILO handling the training, UNICEF providing technical support for the framework, and the EU providing funding.
He also expressed appreciation to the Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, for creating the platform that enabled the state to access the intervention aimed at reaching vulnerable populations and uplifting livelihoods.
“On behalf of the Benue community, we appreciate His Excellency for ensuring we have a platform to reach the vulnerable within our midst and to uplift the lives of those that need to be uplifted,” he said.
Prof. Andohol noted that Benue is one of only four pilot states for the program, alongside Sokoto, Oyo, and Abia. He explained that lessons from the pilot will be escalated to the remaining 32 states.
“It is a privilege that we are here. The trainers may have identified some of you with the capacity to provide inputs and share experiences when the program is rolled out to other states. That is why this training is novel in itself,” he said.
Describing the training as rigorous, the DG said it was “like going back to school.” He used the popular “Buga” song to illustrate the spirit of the program: “Go down low, disaggregate yourself, and when you’re coming up, you’re coming up stronger. That is transformation.”
On impact, Prof. Andohol said training must translate to practice. He charged the state coordinator to develop a monitoring template to assess how the training is improving service delivery at the LGA level. “It’s not enough to come, sit, train and go back. How do we know you have utilized it?” he asked.
He further applauded the facilitators for cascading the training from state level to the local government level, and specifically recognized Dr. David Akighir and Professor Naomi Doki, Head of the Department of Economics, for their rigor in delivering the program.
In her remarks, the Senior Programme Assistant of the International Labour Organization, ILO, Grace Anyiam, congratulated participants on completing the training and urged them to mentor colleagues and build networks across LGAs.
She said the training was both a leadership and capacity-building exercise. “When you go back to your local governments, mentor your colleagues. Foster a network so you can collaborate, share experiences and improve how you implement social protection,” she said.
Anyiam also commended the master trainers led by Dr. David Akighir and applauded participants for their commitment and punctuality throughout the 5 days.
Benue State Coordinator of the State Operations Coordinating Unit, SOCU, National Social Safety Net Programme, Ge Terver, disclosed that Nigeria has met the 12 million household integration mark and Benue has surpassed 320,000. He stated that a new target of 15 million households has been set by the Federal Government.
He described desk officers as “foot soldiers” of social protection and urged them not to relent. “Escalate anything going wrong. Our work will be meaningless if the people meant to be served are not duly served,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of participants, Veronica Kuraun of Buruku LGA and Bem Ayaka of Gboko LGA said the training opened their minds to leadership, social protection delivery and problem-solving.
They noted challenges with ATM cash withdrawals and promised to sensitize beneficiaries on government efforts. The participants appealed for regular refresher trainings, saying: “If you give us one year without training, we may forget. Keep calling us.”
They added that the lessons on leadership will also improve their personal and family lives. The training ended with participants commending government, ILO and facilitators for the capacity building aimed at improving social protection delivery in Benue State.
The TRANSFORM training which began on Monday is designed to strengthen leadership and capacity for the implementation of social protection programs in Benue and other pilot states.
