The Federal Government has reached 6,802,049 beneficiaries representing 69.6 per cent of its target beneficiaries under the National Social Investment Programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari aimed at addressing poverty, unemployment and empowering the poor and vulnerable in the country.
The government also listed challenges in the implementation of the programme like corrupt tendencies of officials shortchanging beneficiaries, collusion of state officials with field officers and community leaders, as well as racketeering.
The Special Adviser on Social Protection, Mrs. Maryam Uwais who reeled out the successes recorded in the the various schemes comprising the National Social Safety Scheme, Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Scheme (GEEP) and the N-Power volunteer and job creation scheme.
She revealed that another set of 300,000 N-power beneficiaries have been pre -selected to increase the beneficiaries to 500,000 as 200,000 are already benefiting from the scheme.
"N-Power is a job creation and youth employment programme and our target are 500,000 unemployed graduates; 100,000 artisans; 8 regional innovation hubs for one million primary and secondary students which offers access to computer, training in animation, coding and programming", she said.
Uwais, while interacting with newsmen in Lagos at the weekend, also added that 6, 044,625 pupils are being fed daily in 20 states by 61, 352 cooks in 33,981 primary schools under the Homegrown School Feeding Programme, adding it would commence in six more states in the first quarter of 2018.
Under the GEEP programme, she said the scheme would provide 1.66 million micro landings for businesses at the bottom of the financial pyramid including traders, women cooperatives, market women, enterprising women, youth farmers and agriculture workers.
"Today, 259,451 loans have been successfully disbursed through GEEP across 36 states plus FCT, out of 478, 388 eligible beneficiaries processed", she said.
Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics current 18.8 unemployment rate, Mrs. Uwais said 82 million Nigerians live below the poverty line which translates into 42.4 per cent of the entire population.
According to her, “10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school and 20% of the World’s out-of-school Children are in Nigeria. The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) will see 5.5 million school children fed with nutritious meals.
There are also secondary beneficiaries of the programme such as the cooks whom we pay directly and farmers who supply the food stuff.”
The Special Adviser disclosed that, “Every minute 6.8 million Nigerians enter the unemployment market and Nigeria needs to ensure that 11.9 people are graduated out of poverty per minute, to escape extreme poverty. Today, Nigeria has a deficit of 6.8 people every minute.
"We need inclusive growth which will enable economic recovery and growth of the country. We researched and found 26 attempts at economic growth in the past but the problems with the past programme have been poor implementation."
From Abdullateef Aliyu, Lagos
The Federal Government has reached 6,802,049 beneficiaries representing 69.6 per cent of its target beneficiaries under the National Social Investment Programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari aimed at addressing poverty, unemployment and empowering the poor and vulnerable in the country.
The government also listed challenges in the implementation of the programme like corrupt tendencies of officials shortchanging beneficiaries, collusion of state officials with field officers and community leaders, as well as racketeering.
The Special Adviser on Social Protection, Mrs. Maryam Uwais who reeled out the successes recorded in the the various schemes comprising the National Social Safety Scheme, Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Scheme (GEEP) and the N-Power volunteer and job creation scheme.
She revealed that another set of 300,000 N-power beneficiaries have been pre -selected to increase the beneficiaries to 500,000 as 200,000 are already benefiting from the scheme.
"N-Power is a job creation and youth employment programme and our target are 500,000 unemployed graduates; 100,000 artisans; 8 regional innovation hubs for one million primary and secondary students which offers access to computer, training in animation, coding and programming", she said.
Uwais, while interacting with newsmen in Lagos at the weekend, also added that 6, 044,625 pupils are being fed daily in 20 states by 61, 352 cooks in 33,981 primary schools under the Homegrown School Feeding Programme, adding it would commence in six more states in the first quarter of 2018.
Under the GEEP programme, she said the scheme would provide 1.66 million micro landings for businesses at the bottom of the financial pyramid including traders, women cooperatives, market women, enterprising women, youth farmers and agriculture workers.
"Today, 259,451 loans have been successfully disbursed through GEEP across 36 states plus FCT, out of 478, 388 eligible beneficiaries processed", she said.
Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics current 18.8 unemployment rate, Mrs. Uwais said 82 million Nigerians live below the poverty line which translates into 42.4 per cent of the entire population.
According to her, “10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school and 20% of the World’s out-of-school Children are in Nigeria. The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) will see 5.5 million school children fed with nutritious meals.
There are also secondary beneficiaries of the programme such as the cooks whom we pay directly and farmers who supply the food stuff.”
The Special Adviser disclosed that, “Every minute 6.8 million Nigerians enter the unemployment market and Nigeria needs to ensure that 11.9 people are graduated out of poverty per minute, to escape extreme poverty. Today, Nigeria has a deficit of 6.8 people every minute.
"We need inclusive growth which will enable economic recovery and growth of the country. We researched and found 26 attempts at economic growth in the past but the problems with the past programme have been poor implementation."
