Rolls out palliative: *8m Nigerians to benefit from social investment packages

*5.5m school children to be fed for 200 school days

*1.6m Nigerian traders, market women, men, artisans to receive loans

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA — To cushion the harsh effect of the new pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, on the people, the Presidency is set to implement the N500 billion earmarked in the 2016 budget for social welfare.

A statement by media spokesperson for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Mr. Laolu Akande, yesterday, in Abuja said: “All together, the Federal Government would be directly impacting the lives of more than eight million Nigerians in different social investments in 2016 budget spending that would provide succour and be ready-made palliatives to ordinary Nigerians.”

Giving a breakdown of the interventions and palliatives, Akande said there would be “direct payment of N5,000 monthly to one million extremely poor Nigerians for 12 months as provided for in the 2016 budget for which N$68.7 billion has been appropriated.”

Similarly, he said  government had also made available a “direct provision of very soft loan-cash for market women, men and traders, including artisans and agric workers.

“This would be for a total of 1.76 million Nigerians without the requirement for conventional collateral. Some of the traders will likely get about N60,000.  A total sum of N140.3 billion has already been appropriated for this in the budget.”

The details also showed  there would be “payment of between N23,000 and N30,000 per month to 500,000 unemployed graduates, who would be trained, paid and deployed to work as volunteer teachers, public health officers and extension service workers, among other responsibilities.

According to the media aide, “they would also be given electronic devices to empower them technologically both for their assignments and beyond. 100,000 artisans would also be trained and paid. N191.5 billion has been set aside for this in the budget.

“At least 5.5 million Nigerian primary school children, starting first in 18 states, three per geopolitical zones, would be fed for 200 school days under the free Homegrown School Feeding Programme.”

He said N93.1 billion had been appropriated for this in the 2016 budget.

“100,000 tertiary students in Science Technology Engineering & Maths-STEM, plus Education, will partake in the N5.8 billion already provided for this education grant in the budget. This payment would also be made directly to the students.”

He stated that these measures that would start in a matter of weeks, would certainly lift the ordinary man from the pangs of economic hardship and poverty.

Akande said: “Long before now, the Presidency had made adequate arrangements in the 2016 budget to ensure that Nigerians are lifted from poverty and hardship.

“The Buhari Presidency is keen to ensure that Nigerians are lifted and that, if necessary, on an ongoing basis palliative measures would always be considered to address the conditions of the people.”