The Buhari Administration at the weekend declared that there are ongoing plans to implement one of its striking campaign promises that it will pay N5000 each to the poorest Nigerians across the country.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who gave the hint noted that government is “currently evaluating the best ways to collapse existing cash transfer and social welfare schemes to ensure consistency and alignment. “Once this is completed, we will implement the first phase of this program, using recognized identification platforms and transparent payment solutions”, he added. Osinbajo who disclosed this at the 10th Year Anniversary Lecture of Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State titled, ‘The Nigerian Economy and the Future’, also said the federal government has identified the weak transmission grid, which prevents the wheeling of more than 5,000MW as a gridlock to be removed. He assured that the Buhari administration would work with the distribution companies to ensure the necessary investment to get electricity to consumers is in place.
On the pervasive poverty ravaging the country, Osinbajo said the
payment of N5000 each to poor Nigerians was necessary because “we cannot
talk about the economy of the future without addressing how we move
people out of poverty. “One of the most striking promises we made during
the campaign was the payment of Five Thousand Naira to the poorest
Nigerians across the country”, he noted, even as he regretted that
today, “about 112 million (66% of Nigerians) are deemed extremely poor,
measured by World Bank parameter of those living on less than US$1.25
per day.” The Vice President observed that the level of poverty explains
much of the Nigerian situation because it affects all aspects of life,
including why over a million Nigerians die yearly of preventable
diseases.
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