The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, has reaffirmed the commitment of the federal government to ensure that poverty is eradicated among Nigerians through various programmes and initiatives introduced by the Buhari administration.
The minister made the disclosure at the flag-off of the grants for vulnerable groups held In Kano, Tuesday.
The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Nasiru Sani Gwarzo, said since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in 2015, it had inherited a national poverty incidence level averaging 70 per cent.
She said the federal government had paid more attention to generating solutions to address the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country despite other economic challenges the administration inherited at the time.
“Since the commencement of implementing the NSIP in 2016, it has impacted positively on many lives of the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria.
“I have personally witnessed the life-changing experiences of people who, hitherto, lived below the poverty line and those that are vulnerable to shocks but are now living better lives.
“Today, we are here to flag off the grant for Vulnerable Groups programme (GVG) in Kano state, a project which was introduced in 2020, first as Grant for Rural Women (GRW), to sustain the social inclusion agenda of President Buhari’s Administration. It is consistent with his deliberate national agenda of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years,” she said.
The minister explained that the GVG was designed to provide a one-off cash grant of N20, 000.00 to some of the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians in rural and peri-urban areas across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, to empower the beneficiaries to improve their productivity and their commercial activities, mainly aimed at easing them out of poverty.
In a his remark, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, represented by the Secretary To The State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, applauded the foresight and commitment of the federal government in introducing programmes and initiatives geared toward addressing the menace of poverty in the country.
