The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday 28th May, said it had reinstated the suspended national social investment programme, revealing the national social investment programme which includes Npower would provide direct payments to 75,000,000 Nigerians in 50,000,000 households to reduce the suffering of citizens, especially vulnerable groups.
The federal government stated that the cash transfer program was overhauled to combat fraud. The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced this at the ministerial sectoral briefing to mark the first year in office of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration in Abuja.
On 12th January, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended all the National Social Investment Programmes which includes Npower for six weeks, as part of an investigation of alleged misappropriation of public funds in Npower, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation at large.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also suspended Betta Edu as the minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on January 8. Betta Edu’s ministry which is the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation oversees the operations of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA).
The National Social Investment Programmes affected include Npower, the conditional cash transfer, the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and the national home-grown school feeding program.
On March 13, the House of Representatives told the federal government to lift the suspension of the National Social Investment Programmes.
To resuscitate the National Social Investment Programmes which includes Npower, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the establishment of a Special Presidential Panel, led by Wale Edun to carry out an extensive review and audit of the existing financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the national social investment programs.
Giving an update on the steps taken by the committee at the briefing, the finance minister Wale Edu stated that the government had decided to reactivate the national social investment program to provide help to poor Nigerians.
Wale Edun said, “I am duty-bound to give you an overview of the strategy, policies, and implementation of Mr President’s reform program. Immediately upon assuming office, Mr President launched macroeconomic reforms to restore stability to the Nigerian economy, including subsidy reforms and foreign exchange market reforms. These reforms caused a spike in costs for individuals and businesses, but Mr President is committed to counterbalancing the negative effects with interventions across the social spectrum.
“The government has restarted the social investment program, providing direct payments to 75 million Nigerians in 50 million households. Access to credit has been improved, with N1bn allocated to consumer credit and grants of 50,000 Naira being given to 1 million nano industries.”
Speaking further, Wale Edun said that the federal government had initiated direct payments to Npower staffs, contractors, suppliers, and vendors engaged by the government, evidently aiming to tackle corruption in business dealings.
Wale Edun disclosed that this measure would guarantee the prudent and accountable expenditure of the nation’s wealth.
Wale Edun also disclosed that the federal government was set to roll out an Economic Emergency Plan that would be implemented in the next six months. The emergency economic plan, Wale Edun said, would help to improve economic growth in the country.
Wale Edun said “A system of payment has been implemented to ensure that Nigeria’s money is spent wisely and accountably. The government has played a role in helping states in attracting cheap funding and processing projects at the community level. Nigeria’s international credit rating has improved, with Moody’s and Fitch increasing and improving Nigeria’s rates to positive.
“The government is committed to counterbalancing the negative effects of economic reforms with interventions across the social spectrum. Infrastructure is key to growing the economy, building employment, and creating multiplier effects throughout the economy. A fund has been set up to provide institutional long-term funds to support housing construction and low-interest mortgages for the average Nigerian and we are working to attract cheap funding for states and process projects at the community level.”
Wale Edun further said, “And as it was mentioned earlier, the pivot thing to CNG is a government policy not just for vehicles but for generators. They have to be either CNG-fueled or solar-based or electric vehicles.
“That is the new incentive structure. And it continues also in the oil and gas sector. There has just been a new set of incentives that are encouraging new investments. We expect $7bn worth of investment that has been sitting on the sideline to now come; similarly, in other sectors.
“A stable, growing economy attracts investment that increases productivity, grows the economy further, creates jobs and reduces poverty. That is the trajectory that Nigeria is now on.”
