Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Mrs Maryam Uwais also gave an address at the Federal Government Progressive Governors Forum.

"Our Social Investment Programme is tied to the Bank Verification Number, to ensure transparency & promote financial inclusion.

Government Enterprise & Empowerment Programme (GEEP)—Collateral-free Loans to cooperative societies. No interest, only a 5% administrative fee. Managed by Bank Of Industry (BOI).

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT)—stipends to poorest Nigerians, based on Social Register compiled with the support of World Bank. 70,000 are already being paid.

Homegrown School Feeding Programme (HSFP) - provides one free meal to Primary School children daily.

The food for the Homegrown School Feeding Programme is supplied by local farmers within the benefiting communities, and prepared by local cooks.

In one State a bank was colluding with Government officials to shortchange the School Feeding Programme. Kids were being fed biscuits. We have reported to the Government. We found that the bank was paying the cooks only half the funds, and sharing the other half with Government officials. One woman came with a Ghana Must Go bag to collect N10,000 CCT stipend. Said she had no idea how much it was because she had never seen that much money in her life."