‘FG’s N50bn poverty reduction programme impacted 1.8m Nigerians’

The Federal Government has said 1.8 million people have benefited from the projects and programmes undertaken under the national poverty reduction with growth strategy.

The 2022 report of the NPRGS was presented in Abuja on Thursday at a meeting chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

According to the report, 100 programmes under the initiative of agriculture for food and jobs plan, and construction of rural roads, have been completed.

Spokesperson to the vice president, Laolu Akande, said the report indicated that 1.6 million smallholder farmers were impacted under the agriculture for jobs plan.

“Besides, 13,000 youths have been trained under a technical and vocational education and training programme in six states comprising Lagos, Ogun, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna and Nasarawa, while arrangements are underway to provide similar training for 2000 beneficiaries in Edo state.

“Equally, more than 8,000 Nigerians were employed in rural roads construction under the rural roads programme which built 40 rural roads in 120 communities, covering about 57.3 km across the country,” the report reads.

The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, who presented the report, confirmed that the direct beneficiaries of the programmes are 1.8 million “vulnerable Nigerians.”

He said, “A total of 9,527 Nigerians have also been directly employed through the implementation of the programmes so far. Additionally, at the meeting, the committee approved the sum of N250 billion for the execution of projects for the year 2023.

“Implementation under the NPRGS for the year included the provision of 100,000 homes for low-income earners which would create 1 million jobs directly and indirectly.

“Expansion of energy access by providing 1,200 solar street lights in rural communities and six mini-grids for high-capacity productive farming under the Solar Naija Programme.

“Creation of 4.5 million direct and indirect jobs through the rural roads programme which targets to connect about 750 rural markets. Provision of N9 billion support for over 1.6 million vulnerable smallholder farmers for the 2023 wet season farming under the agriculture for jobs plan.

“The expansion of the National Social Register with an additional 3 million households.”

Inn April 2021, the federal executive council approved the national poverty reduction with growth strategy.

The NPRGS is anchored on four pillars of macroeconomic stabilisation, industrialisation, structural policies and institutional reforms, redistributive policies and programmes.

NPRGS was created to support the administration’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within a decade.