President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in New York said that “reducing extreme poverty and hunger is one of the cardinal objectives” of his administration.
The President disclosed this, while delivering the keynote address at the Nigeria High-Level Side-Event on “SDG Integration – Bridging the Policy Planning – Budgeting Gap for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” which held on the margins of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA74).
He stated that the priority attached to tackling the menace is the reason that his administration committed itself to lifting approximately 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within a 10-year period, adding that “This is a national development priority and in line with the aspirations of the SDGs”
“We have since established an ambitious National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) targeting the poor and vulnerable members of the Nigerian population.”
According to him, “Through the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), we are tackling and addressing the root causes of poverty in all its manifestations. For example, the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSF) component is feeding almost 10 Million school pupils daily and empowering over 90, 000 local catering staff across the country.”
The President also promised to overcome ad hoc planning for the SDGs, by ensuring domestication and customization of the Integrated Sustainable Development Goals Model in 2017.
“It was our genuine desire for scientific planning and implementation of the SDGs that made Nigeria to commence the process of domestication and customization of the Integrated Sustainable Development Goals Model in 2017.
According to him, “The Nigeria iSDG Model, the Report of which we will officially launch today, will serve as a framework for robust, fact-based policy analysis, planning and implementation at all levels of government. It is expected to be used as a planning tool to complement existing ones currently in use at the national, sectoral and sub-national levels.”
Also speaking on the Conditional Cash Transfer Component, the President said his administration is ” reaching out to approximately 300, 000 poor and vulnerable households across the country. adding that ” the government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme component has provided over a million loans to petty traders and small entrepreneurs across the country.
“Similarly, the N-Power Programme, a youth employability and enhancement programme, has empowered 500,000 youths between the ages of 18-35 with the needed skills for the job market over a 2-year period.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
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