ERGP is expanding all strata of economy, bridging unemployment gaps, says Itegboje

…As School feeding reaches 8.5m pupils

Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Amb. Samson Itegboje, has said that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) unveiled in 2017 has been positively impactful by expanding all strata of the economy thereby bridging unemployment gaps and touching the lives of many more Nigerians. Besides, Nigeria’s feeding programme for primary school pupils reached 8.5 million children in December 2018, exceeding its target of 5.5 million pupils. Itegboje stated this at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development at the UN Headquarters in New York. He explained that the socio-economic development landscape in Nigeria was rapidly changing based on sound fiscal, social protection and economic measures put in place by the Federal government. He said President Muhammadu Buhari was at the verge of implementing a new minimum wage for public sector workers in the country in addition to the enhancement of remuneration of the personnel of the Police and settlement of pension of retired soldiers. Itegboje said: “As at August 2018, the social policy of Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programme, introduced by our government, which is designed to provide one nutritious meal a day for children in classes one to three, in public primary schools, with food locally grown by farmers, had overshot its target of 5.5 million by recording 8.51 million, in 47,299 primary schools, located in 24 states in the country. “Consequently, the programme has trickled financial benefits to a total of 90,670 cooks and enhanced capital income of rural farmers in various local communities. “Government is also subsidising the examination fees for students of secondary schools and entrance examination fees into the Tertiary Institutions in the country. “The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme loan scheme otherwise known as ‘Trader Moni’ created to provide interest-free loans with six-months repayment period for petty traders and artisans in the society has grown tremendously from initial N1O,000 to N100,000. “As at August 2018, the sum of $10,722,222 had been disbursed to cumulatively, 386,000 beneficiaries from all the 36 states in the country including the Federal Capital Territory”. According to him, the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme, whereby government disbursed N5,000 monthly stipend to the poor and vulnerable households in the society has continued to empower the poorest of the poor in the society and salvage them from the yoke of poverty.