Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that the Social Investment Programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will reduce poverty.
He said this at the extended National Economic Council’s national dialogue on Human Capital Development, at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja on Friday, 14 December 2018.
“There is no denying the fact that Nigeria has struggled with debilitating levels of poverty for several decades, in spite of our huge potential and huge earnings, especially from oil.
“Indeed, the last result of the poverty study undertaken by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2012 showed that 112 million Nigerians were living in extreme poverty.
“When we came into office in 2015, three things were very clear: one, that we needed to move very quickly and ambitiously to respond to issues of poverty, malnutrition, disease and illiteracy.
“The second was that there would be no quick fixes or miracle cures. It would be a long and painful journey out of the status quo. And we would need to be patient and consistent in the implementation of all our interventions.
“Three, just as we are reaping presently the consequences of neglect and sometimes poor decisions that have been taken in the past, we can change the consequences that await us in the future by changing the decisions that we take now in the present, and by ensuring that we make the right decisions.
“Nigerians everywhere deserve to live healthy, educated and productive lives, regardless of where in Nigeria they live or whatever other peculiarities they may have.
“By the sheer nature of our constitutional arrangements, the Federal Government must work with State governments and State governments must work with each other.
“The only way to succeed is by recognizing that this is a joint responsibility.
“I have no doubt at all that we are on the right path. But we must stick to this path.
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“We cannot afford anything that will slow us down or take us away from these commitments that we have started to implement.
“We owe it to all of our people, young and old, male and female; especially the poorest and most vulnerable amongst us, to improve the quality of their lives, and the quality of healthcare, education and the jobs that are accessible to them,” the Vice President said.
