FG releases N66bn for N-Power, school feeding, others

-The Nigerian government has set aside N66bn to improve its four welfare programmes in the country.

-The programmes are N-Power, Home Grown School Feeding, Conditional Cash Transfer and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.

The Federal Government has earmarked N66bn to boost its social welfare programmes which include; N-Power, Home Grown School Feeding, Conditional Cash Transfer and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.

Naija News gathered that the Special Adviser to the President on National Social Investment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, said this on Monday during the commencement of a retreat at Tinapa Business and Resort Centre in Calabar, Cross River State.

According to Punch, she added that as part of the four programmes which the National Social Investment Office in the Office of the Vice-President, an additional N80bn interest-free loans would be released soon to registered cooperative bodies in the country. However, she said that much of the money has not been released yet and Bank of Industries have been asked to administer it for easy recovery of any due loan from debtors.

“The Federal Government has earmarked N66bn to further boost its four social welfare programmes. An additional N80bn will further be appropriated very soon for interest-free loans as part of the four programmes.

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“The government has deliberately voted this huge sum as a way of supporting the determination to ameliorate the biting poverty level of Nigerians and to encourage young Nigerians to learn as many trades as they want. We would encourage that these programmes should be publicised for Nigerians to come out to benefit from it,” she said.

The Special Adviser noted that the development was necessary in order for women and the youths, including the unskilled and unemployed persons, to join cooperative organisations as they might not be able to attend to individuals.

According to her, the groups must be registered bodies in order to help manage the appropriated funds.

“This will be easier for them to reach out even though in different states they have appointed focal persons who are to coordinate the cooperatives,” she said.

Uwais therefore, lauded Cross River State for embarking on the four programmes in the state.

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“At least 4,500 graduates from Cross River State are participating in the N-Power programme with majority of them working as teachers in schools and others as agriculture extension workers. The remaining numbers are functioning as environmental worker force and they are all doing very well and the state is being supportive which is quite commendable,” Uwais stated.

Governor Ben Ayade, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Ivara Esu, commended the determination of the federal government to release funds.

He said it was becoming difficult for the state to intervene in social welfare programmes, assuring that the state would extend necessary cooperation to the federal agencies to ease work in order to reach out to the citizens.