FG’S FRESH $3.05BN INTERVENTION DEAL, A BOOST TO ONGOING ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVES AT THE GRASSROOTS- TSMG

By Olayiwola Ibrahim // The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described the five intervention programmes newly introduced by the Bola Tinubu administration as part of ongoing economic reforms to support vulnerable communities, improve primary healthcare and education at the grassroots in the country.

In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, the group noted that the programmes, worth over $3 billion, are a deliberate effort to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty and ensure they feel the liberating impact of the Tinubu reforms.

The statement read in part: “Coming at a time some Nigerians are saying that the real positive impact of the administration’s reform policies was not being felt by the country’s vulnerable population, these targeted interventions are a fitting response to the flawed narrative.

They are a coordinated cross-sectoral effort by the federal government geared towards reducing poverty by taking the battle to the grassroots where the poorest of the poor have little or no access to education, sustainable livelihood and good healthcare services amongst others.

We recall that even the World Bank had at a time acknowledged that the Nigerian economy had recorded a boost as a result of the policies but expressed concern that the majority of the people living below the poverty line were not benefiting from the policies.

It is against this backdrop that we view the five intervention programmes recently unveiled by the Tinubu administration as a veritable means of strengthening social protection and protecting vulnerable communities.

These include the $1.25 billion Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Additional Financing (NG-CARES AF), the $300 million Solutions for Internally Displaced and Host Communities (SOLID) Programme, and the $1.5 billion Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) Programme, comprising HOPE-GOV, HOPE-PHC and HOPE-EDU.

Specifically, the targeted interventions are separately designed to expand support for small scale farmers and small business owners under the $1.25 billion NG-CARES, $300 million from the World Bank is available, under SOLID, for humanitarian relief and long-term development as well as essential services for IDPS and their host communities, while the $1.5 billion HOPE package is meant to strengthen primary healthcare, foundational learning, teacher development and governance in public education.

In essence, the programmes are targeted at supporting Nigerians who are within the category of vulnerable populations, which are almost always used to benchmark poverty in the country.

We are indeed convinced that with the backing of the World Bank, these initiatives will not only ensure that the benefits of the economic reforms trickle down to the people but are also felt directly by the masses through improved living conditions and access to essential social services.

It is worth noting that these initiatives are not meant to replace ongoing social intervention programmes like the Cash transfer initiative, which has since been expanded.

They are, instead, designed to complement existing programmes and deepen their impact among the vulnerable population, especially in areas that have not been covered.

And as the President did at the launch, we urge stakeholders saddled with the responsibility of implementing these initiatives to live up to the task handed to them.

The group added that the initiatives showed that the Tinubu administration is not prepared to leave any group of Nigerians behind to make the country a better place for all.