The Federal Government has ordered the termination of contracts of two Payment Service Providers for their failure to begin the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme to beneficiaries in four states of the federation assigned to them.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, gave the order for the termination of the contracts, according to a statement issued by her ministry on Tuesday.
The affected states are Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom in the South-South; Abia in the South-East; and Zamfara in the North-West.
The ministry stated that the immediate termination of the contract would be with the guidance of the World Bank.
It said a new procurement process had been inaugurated using World Bank procurement guidelines to ensure that payment begins in the affected states on or before April 28, 2020.
The statement named the two PSPs involved in the contract termination as Data Mining Company and Innovative NIPOST.
Umar-Farouq said the Federal Government could not accept delays in the current payment round of N20,000 stipend to beneficiaries in poor and vulnerable households under any excuse in the four states or any other state of the federation.
She said, “The failure of any payment service provider to meet their contractual agreement is unacceptable. The Federal Government through the ministry cannot allow contractors to derail the immediate Conditional Cash Transfers to the poor and the vulnerable.”
