The need to pay attention on the common man and spend the resources of
this country on the poor people explains why the Buhari presidency has
proposed a N500B estimate in the 2016 budget, even as more details on the
6 social protection plans were released.
In a News Release issued Sunday the Senior Special Assistant-Media &
Publicity in the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande disclosed
that at no time in the nation’s budgetary history has the federal
government made a specific vote of such volume for social welfare.
“Even economic historians now say that not only is the half a trillion
Naira vote unprecedented, but it is also the greatest service ever done to
the Nigerian state and people by any federal government administration,”
Akande said.
Continuing he noted that the six social safety plans would reduce high
levels of poverty and vulnerabilities, while also increasing Nigeria’s
Human Development Index on the global UN rankings.
“The President’s vision is to increase investments in human capital to
guarantee security for all, employment and improved well-being of the
people,” the Vice President’s media aide added.
He disclosed that the presidency is aware that past attempts to address
poverty have suffered because of insufficient political will, presence of
various uncoordinated initiatives and poorly targeted beneficiaries among
other factors, and is working to avoid the pitfalls.
The Senior Special Assistant said for the Conditional Cash Transfer, CCT,
where one million extremely poor Nigeria will receive N5000 monthly in
2016, the money would be paid directly to the beneficiaries through a
payment system that is being worked out.
He said World Bank and the Bill Gates Foundation are collaborating with
the presidency to develop an efficient payment system. All together about
N60B has been estimated to be paid out to extremely poor Nigerians. And
the implementation of the programme starts once the budget is passed.
In fact, Akande disclosed, that there would also be direct payment in the
Homegrown School Feeding Programme.
“In the case of the CCT, those one million poor Nigerians would be paid
directly, while in the case of the Homegrown School Feeding, the suppliers
of the meals to the primary school pupils would also be paid directly by
the federal government. There would be no middle agents involved official
or private,” according to Akande.
The media aide observed that the recipients of the CCT would meet the
conditions of their children participating in immunization and school
enrollment but also boost the economy as the money would boost consumer
spending in the economy.
He stated that regarding the Homegrown School Feeding programme, the
federal government will start a pilot scheme in selected states once the
budget is passed. An estimate of over N96B being proposed to be spent on
the Homegrown School Feeding this year.
The one-meal-a-day programme is also being supported by the Imperial
College in the UK through one of its agencies Partnership for Child
Development, PCD.
According to Akande, the Homegrown School Feeding will not only feed the
children and help their learning significantly, but it would also boost
the local economy of the states and the local communities.
The Buhari presidency has four other social investment plans, including
the 500,000 direct jobs, where unemployed graduates would be trained and
hired to become volunteer teachers in their communities while looking for
jobs in their chosen profession.
There is also a Youth Employment plan that would take 370,000
non-graduates youths through skills acquisition and vocational training
programmes. Like the teaching jobs, the selection of beneficiaries for
this scheme would be done on states and FCT basis, opened to all Nigerians
of different shades.
For small scale traders, artisans and market women, there is the Micro
Credit scheme where one million Nigerians would get a one-time soft loan
of N60,000 each through the Bank of Industry.
And finally there is the Free Education plan for students of Science,
Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, STEM where government will pay
tuition for 100,000 students.