A total of N470.8bn has been released by the Federal
Government in the last three years for the implementation of its social safety
programme.
The Federal Government had in 2015 designed the programme to
improve the lives of all Nigerians irrespective of religion, political
affiliation and social class.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had
structured the programme to be impact-oriented, specifically catering to the
needs of the poor, vulnerable, unemployed and those at the bottom of the
pyramid without access to finance.
Under the social safety programme, four broad initiatives
are being implemented with each uniquely targeting different subgroups of
Nigerians for empowerment.
They are N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfers, National
Home-Grown School Feeding and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programmes.
Figures obtained from the National Social Investment Office
revealed that out of the N500bn set aside for the implementation of the
programme, about N470.8bn had been disbursed.
A breakdown of the amount showed that the sum of N79.98bn
was released in 2016, while N140bn and N250.84bn were released in the 2017 and
2018 fiscal years respectively.
For the implementation of the N-Power programme, about
500,000 people spread across 774 Local Government Areas have been recruited to
teach in public schools, act as health workers in primary health centres and as
agriculture extension advisors to smallholder farmers in various communities.
The National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, which was
aimed at providing one nutritious, balanced meal for 200 school days in a year,
has been able to reach over 9.7 million pupils.
Through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme,
about 1,681,491 loans have been made available to successful applicants in all
states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking on the implementation of the social safety
programme, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments,
Maryam Uwais, noted that going forward, a five-year road map had been designed
for the programme.
She said that for the sustainability of the initiative, a
bill that would create a legal entity of the Social Safety Intervention
Programme had been drafted.
The bill, according to her, is receiving the required
attention.
She said, “We have begun the journey; that is indeed a
marathon, bearing in mind the needs and ambitions of this administration.
“A five-year road map has been designed and is being
considered by relevant policymakers, while a bill creating a legal entity for
the National Social Investment Programme is already drafted and receiving
attention for sustainability.
“We need to actively explore the fiscal space for continued
funding for the journey ahead. We are optimistic that we can overcome poverty
in our lifetime, and improve on our human capital indices.
“It is only with political will, a concerted effort, the
funding and the backing of Nigerians that we can enhance the conditions of our
citizens.
“We just need to work closely with the states, the LGAs and
communities, and provide the incentives for engagement with the standards and
incentives offered by the Federal Government.”
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