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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has disclosed that about N157.7 billion has been estimated in the 2017 budget for the training of additional 350,000 unemployed graduates under the N-Power Volunteer Corps of the Social Investment Programmes (SIP).
Senior Special Assistant to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, who made the disclosure, also said about 50,000 non-graduate youths will be engaged as artisans in other creative ventures.
Akande said out of the N157.75 billion budgeted for the scheme, N4.5 billion has been earmarked for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,( STEM) programme to support young Nigerians in building skills in those disciplines.
Akande said the SIP budget proposals for 2017 are currently being discussed at the National Assembly and urged Nigerians to expect more this year, especially in the area of implementation as virtually all of the SIPs are now undergoing different stages of implementation.
“While we were able to engage 200,000 unemployed graduates last year, we will do 350,000 more this year,” he assured and added that some of the teething problems are giving way to lessons that would smoothen implementation under the 2017 budget.
Equally, under the 2017 budget proposals now before the National Assembly, Akande disclosed that about N75 billion has been allocated for the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, which will provide one hot meal a day for five million primary school pupils. He said this would be an improvement on the feeding programme on the 2016 budget which has, so far, attained the feeding of about one million pupils.
He added that under the 2017 budget, N112.2 billion has been allocated for the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) aimed at providing interest-free loans to up to 1.2 million market men and women, traders, artisans, youths and farmers.
Under the GEEP, he explained that beneficiaries will receive between N10,000 and N100,000 loans with a one-time five percent administrative fee. Already, under the 2016 budget, over 20,000 Nigerians, in about 14 states, have benefited from GEEP.
Similarly, the Conditional Cash Transfer, which has kicked off in nine states, would be further expanded under the 2016 budget and will reach more states and more Nigerians.
“The plan in 2016 budget targets one million poorest and vulnerable Nigerians. And in the 2017 budget an additional N54.98 billion has been allocated for the continuation of the N5,000 monthly social safety net payments to the poorest Nigerians,” he said.
Akande further clarified that while President Buhari approved another N500 billion this year for all the social intervention programmes, N100 billion out of it has been allocated for the Family Homes Fund as already announced by the Ministry of Finance.
