Buhari approves N400b for farmers, market women, others
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Abuja has approved N400 billion under the National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (NPRGS) which covers the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfer, Farmer Money, and Market Money.
Approval for the 2022 welfare scheme was disclosed by Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule after a meeting of the NPRGS National Steering Committee at the Villa in Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 inaugurated the NPRGS chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Sule disclosed the meeting reviewed the implementation of what was approved in the budget and by Buhari.
“It is a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Presidential Poverty and Growth Strategy. The last meeting we had, the fourth meeting, we were able to set up various working groups that are going to prepare the total budget that was required.
“So, they were able to do that and then we were able to obtain also the President’s approval,” he said.
“Based on the President’s approval and availability in the budget, this meeting that we had was actually just to go through the implementation of whatever has been approved, both in the budget and by the President.”
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NPRGS implementation
Sule listed some of the programmes through which the NPRGS is being implemented, per the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reported by Nairametrics.
“Looking at what is available in the budget this year, which is roughly N400 billion, the Humanitarian Ministry is going to take N350 billion for the expansion of the various programmes like Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfer, Farmer Money, Market Money and the rest of that.
“There is also another N50 billion that is going to be reserved for various other programmes like the Ministry of Agriculture for rural roads, and electricity in terms of solar.”
NDP
Buhari disclosed last year that Nigeria needs N348.1 trillion investment to fully achieve the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, a replacement of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017- 2020 which expired in 2020.
The NDP aims to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years under the NPRGS.
Out of the N348.1 trillion needed to push it, the government is expected to provide N49.7 trillion (14.3 per cent) and the private sector N298.3 trillion (85.7 per cent).