The president on Sunday formally unveiled what he called “by far the most ambitious social protection programme” in Nigeria’s history.
There is widespread poverty in the land today owing largely to certain policies of the federal government, which, the president said were “necessary pills” to swallow in order to have a better future.
Speaking on Sunday in a national broadcast to mark his one year in office, Mr. Buhari said the social protection programme would seek to start the process of lifting many citizens out of poverty, while at the same time creating the opportunity for many to fend for themselves.
“In this regard, five hundred billion Naira has been appropriated in the 2016 budget for social intervention programmes in five key areas,” he said.
He also said his administration was committed to providing job creation opportunities for five hundred thousand teachers and one hundred thousand artisans across the nation.
“5.5 million children are to be provided with nutritious meals through our school feeding programme to improve learning outcomes, as well as enrolment and completion rates.
“The conditional cash transfer scheme will provide financial support for up to one million vulnerable beneficiaries, and complement the enterprise programme which will target up to one million market women; four hundred and sixty thousand artisans; and two hundred thousand agricultural workers, nationwide.
“Finally, through the education grant scheme, we will encourage students studying sciences, technology, engineering and maths, and lay a foundation for human capital development for the next generation,” he said.
