The Nigerian government is launching an intervention that targets the urban poor as part of the country’s Economic Sustainability Plan, ESP.
The launch is also a response to the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Saddiya Umar Farouq said on Monday that she briefed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the COVID-19 Rapid Response Register being compiled by the ministry in preparation to the take-off of the programme.
She said that Vice President Osinbajo launched the pilot of the intervention, through which government would give N5,000.00 monthly for six months to 3,150 beneficiaries in two political wards in the Federal Capital Territory and two wards in Lagos State.
“The first set of people to receive this intervention will get messages into their bank accounts that the federal government has started this programme,” the minister said.
School feeding
Farouq said that government would continue the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme with the resumption of schools in some states.
“Yes, once schools are open, we continue with the programme. It is going to be on state-by-state basis for those states where schools have resumed. For those that have not, we wait until their schools resume.”
She said that government would sustain the school feeding programme despite the prevailing economic challenges faced by the country.
She pointed out that provisions were made for the implementation of the programme in the 2020 and 2021 budgets. “So, it is a programme that will continue hopefully even beyond this administration, ” she said.
She said federal government was in talks with the states to see the programme could be enhanced and how the states could make their contributions to the programme.
Lateefah Ibrahim
