FG approves N400bn for poverty reduction schemes

The Federal Government has approved the sum of N400 billion under the National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy.

This covers certain welfare schemes which include the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer, Farmer Money, and Market Money.

The approval for 2022 was made known by the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule.

Governor Sule had spoken with State House correspondents on Thursday after a meeting of the National Steering Committee of the NPRGS at Aso Rock in Abuja, to review the implementation of what was approved in the budget.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had in 2021, set up the NPRGS headed by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

“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.

“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,” he said.

“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, Conditional Cash Transfer, Farmer Money, Market Money and the rest of that,” he added.

Governor Sule noted that there was also another N50 billion to be reserved for various other programmes such as the Ministry of Agriculture for rural roads, and renewable energy like solar.