President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday warned the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo over MarketMoni, one of his administration’s Social Intervention Programmes (SIP).
The programme is being implemented under the Vice President’s office.
Speaking when he hosted Osinbajo, Ministers, Security Chiefs and Chief Executives of Federal Government Agencies to a breaking of fast at the Presidential Villa on Monday, Buhari warned the vice president to be careful with the way he moves from one market to the other.
“This `market money’ I warned the Vice-President. I don’t like him to be mobbed, especially the way I see hefty women coming and confronting him, he should be very careful.”
“These are very good initiatives. Initially, I was quite reluctant but I must admit that they are very good programmes and they endear this government to a lot of poor people because of these N5,000 or N10,000 being given to them as loans.”
” They are fantastic programmes and I have to admit quite honestly that the vice president was ahead of me by insisting on them.”
“But he knows me if he insists I will say `okay go and do what you like.’ He did it and I’m very pleased as he is being very successful,’’ he said.
The president lamented the inability of the Nigerian elites to address the welfare and educational needs of the less-privileged in the country.
” When I drive around the country what upset me very much is the status of our poor people in this country. You see young people, the so-called Almajiris with tore dresses, with plastic bowl. They are looking basically for what to eat.
“The question of education to them is a luxury. I think as Nigerian elites we are all failing because I think we should have a programme that will at least guarantee some basic education for our people no matter how poor they are.”
“So, I welcomed the Vice-President initiative of the School feeding programme. If you check in your localities the enrollment into schools improved because a lot of children can get at least one good meal a day. This is the position of this country.”
“But, culturally some of us are quite merciless, we don’t care about what happen to others we just keep on moving forward,” he said.
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