Eight million Nigerians to benefit from govt’s N.5tr social welfare scheme

• Over 1.6m traders, artisans to receive loans
• One million vulnerable persons to get N5,000 each
Over eight million Nigerians are to benefit from the half a trillion naira social investment programmes and palliatives in the 2016 budget. The scheme is targeted at the poor and vulnerable in the society.

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, while unfolding details of the programmes in a statement in Abuja yesterday said these included amongst others, the direct payment of N5,000 monthly to one million extremely poor Nigerians for 12 months as provided for in the 2016 budget.

The scheme also included the direct provision of soft loan for market women and traders, including artisans and agriculture workers. This would be for 1.76 million Nigerians, without the requirement for conventional collateral.

According to him, some of the traders will likely get about N60,000. A total sum of N140.3 billion has already been appropriated for this in the budget. There will be payment of between N23,000 to N30,000 per month to 500,000 unemployed graduates who would be trained, paid and deployed to work as volunteer teachers, public health officers and extension service workers among other responsibilities.

According to Akande, they would also be given electronic devices to empower them technologically for their assignments and others. Similarly 100,000 artisans would also be trained and paid. N191.5 billion has been set aside for this in the budget.

About 5.5 million Nigerian primary school children, starting first in 18 states – three per geopolitical zone would be fed for 200 school days under the free Homegrown School Feeding Programme. He added that N93.1 billion has been appropriated for this in the 2016 budget

One hundred thousand tertiary institution students in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) including Education would benefit in the N5.8 billion already provided for this education grant in the budget. This payment would be paid directly to the students.

Akande further said the N500 billion social investment programmes of the Buhari administration is a palliative to rescue Nigerians from poverty and economic hardship. “This will not only assuage the current pains arising from the new fuel pricing regime, but also provide social safety nets for over eight million Nigerians this year.”