FG Committed to Restore Livelihood of Poor, Vulnerable in Nigeria - Minister

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba has said that the Federal Government was committed towards restoring the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people in the country.

The Minister reiterated this in Bauchi on Tuesday during a one-day Ministerial town hall meeting on Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (N-G CARES) Programme for stakeholders in Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Plateau states.

According to him, over 2 million Nigerians have so far benefited from the programme in just one year.

"The Federal Government once again wishes to restate its commitment to restoring the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

"It is also committed to maintain food security and facilitate the recovery of Micro and Small Enterprises. The NG-CARES Programme is one of the policy options explored by our Administration to achieve these objectives. 

"In about a year of full implementation, NG-CARES has impacted over 2 million direct beneficiaries.

"This is based on the report of the first round of assessment of the Programme implementation conducted by an Independent Verification Agent," he said.

Represented by Rev. Aso Vakporaye, Chairman, Federal Care Technical Committee of N-G CARES, the Minister added that one of President Muhammadu Buhari's strategies was to meet with, and engage stakeholders as part of government's accountability to the citizens. 

He said that the purpose was to hear first-hand views of the people on government policies and programmes and to feel the pulse of the Nation.

"This town hall meeting, therefore, provides an opportunity for both government and the citizens to interact with a view to increasing better governance and participatory democracy.

"The outcome of this interaction would form part of what this present government will hand over to the incoming government," he said.

In his speech, Alhaji Atiku Musa, Head, Monitoring and Evaluation, Federal CARES Support Unit, said after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government, in its proactive posture, developed the Economic Sustainability Plan.

According to him, this plan inspired the preparation and eventual implementation of the NG-CARES Programme in the 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said that the programme had recorded tangible results and had positively affected so many poor and vulnerable Nigerians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other shocks across the country.