The Presidency has said past attempts to address poverty suffered because of insufficient political will, presence of various uncoordinated initiatives and poorly targeted beneficiaries among other factors, saying it is working to avoid the same pitfalls.
It said the need to pay attention to the common man and spend the nation’s resources on the poor explained why President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has proposed N500 billion allocation in the 2016 budget.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande said this would be the first time in the nation’s budgetary history that the Federal Government would propose such large sum for social welfare.
“Even economic historians now say that not only is the half a trillion naira vote unprecedented, but, it is also the greatest service ever done to the Nigerian state and people by any federal government administration,” Akande said.
The Vice President’s media aide also noted that the six social safety plans would reduce high levels of poverty and vulnerabilities, while also increasing Nigeria’s Human Development Index on the global UN rankings.
“The President’s vision is to increase investments in human capital to guarantee security for all, employment and improved well-being of the people”.
Akande said for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), where one million extremely poor Nigerians will receive N5000 monthly in 2016, the money would be paid directly to the beneficiaries through a payment system that is being worked out.
He said World Bank and the Bill Gates Foundation are collaborating with the presidency to develop an efficient payment system.
“All together about N60 billion has been estimated to be paid out to extremely poor Nigerians. And the implementation of the programme starts once the budget is passed”, he. Said
Presidency also said for the country to experience meaningful change as promised during the electoral campaign by the All Progressive Congress (APC), Buhari’s administration will continue to welcome objective criticisms of its policies.
It also denied media reports that it was misleading the public with regards to the budget, saying the allegations will not stand the test of time.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said one of the reasons President Buhari directed that the draft 2016 appropriation budget, now before the National Assembly, be put on the website of the budget office in line with established tradition, was so that Nigerians could read it with a view to making their observations.
Still reacting to the report, “2016 Budget: Buhari to spend more on State House Clinic than on all Federal Government-owned Teaching Hospitals,” Shehu said the Budget Office’s summary of the allocations to the various sectors under the Ministry of Health, rubbished the report, showing it to be inaccurate.
“The budget office has affirmed that in terms of both capital and recurrent allocations, the draft budget has put far more money in the 17 teaching hospitals than it did in the State House Clinic.
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