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By From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu yesterday unveiled five synchronised social and development programmes worth $3.05 billion aimed at accelerating poverty reduction, strengthening community resilience and investing in human capital.
Speaking at the launch, through Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, Tinubu said the initiatives — the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Additional Financing (NG-CARES), the Solutions for Internally Displaced and Host Communities program (SOLID) and a three-in-one Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity package (HOPE Gov, HOPE PHC, HOPE Edu) — will convert recent macroeconomic gains into tangible improvements in livelihoods across wards and local communities.
“This is not just a set of programmes; these are promises kept,” he told governors, ministers, development partners, business leaders and the media. “On our renewed hope agenda, we came into office pledging to reform our economy, secure the nation, and invest in our people. Today, we act on that pledge — protecting the vulnerable, empowering communities, and building the human capital that will carry Nigeria forward.”
He said the programmes formed a single national strategy to translate recent macroeconomic gains into improved livelihoods through investments in livelihoods, healthcare, education, social protection and support for displaced communities.
Tinubu said NG-CARES would receive about 1.25 billion dollars in additional World Bank financing to support smallholder farmers and small businesses, while SOLID would deploy 300 million dollars to assist internally displaced persons and host communities.
He said the 1.5 billion-dollar HOPE package would strengthen primary healthcare, foundational education, teacher support and governance reforms in public education nationwide.
“These five programmes are one coordinated national strategy for poverty reduction, human capital development and community resilience.”
Tinubu said Nigeria’s economic reforms had strengthened the foundation for inclusive growth, citing rising foreign reserves, declining inflation and improved economic performance.
“These are not abstract figures; they are the foundation for the next phase of our national development.”
He added that expanded cash transfers had reached 15 million vulnerable households.
Tinubu urged federal, state and local governments, development partners and implementing agencies to ensure effective implementation, stressing that delivery and accountability would determine the programmes’ success.
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Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, described the interventions as a whole-of-government response to poverty, the cost-of-living crisis and human capital challenges.
“These programmes represent another milestone in translating the Renewed Hope Agenda into concrete interventions that directly touch the lives of poor and vulnerable Nigerians,” Bagudu said.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, said the 570 million-dollar HOPE-PHC programme would improve primary healthcare services for about 40 million Nigerians, especially women, children and adolescents.
ÍHe said the programme would reduce maternal and under-five mortality, strengthen primary healthcare facilities and improve service delivery through performance-based financing.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the 562 million-dollar HOPE-EDU programme would benefit nearly 30 million pupils, support 500,000 teachers and strengthen 65,000 public schools across the country.
Speaking for the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa (representing the Forum’s chairman) said the launch marks “another key step towards turning the Renewed Hope agenda into tangible benefits for Nigerians,” affirming the 36 states’ commitment to collaborate with the federal government and development partners to “ensure that the promise of renewal is experienced by every Nigerian in every state of the Federation.”
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa of the Senate Committee on Finance, pledged the National Assembly’s full support for the NG-CARES, SOLID and HOPE programmes, describing them as a “renewal of hope” and a national commitment to lift vulnerable citizens from poverty, displacement and exclusion.
Akpabio said the greatness of any nation “is measured by how it uplifts its most vulnerable citizens,” and stressed that the new packages must move beyond rhetoric to deliver “tangible results for families, farmers, traders and entrepreneurs” through targeted appropriations and measurable outcomes.
He committed the legislature to pass enabling laws and strengthen oversight so that funds appropriated for health, education, livelihoods and social protection translate into real services and restored livelihoods. “We will ensure that these appropriations produce measurable outcomes,” the message said, calling for coordinated action among the executive, legislature, judiciary, private sector, development partners and citizens.
Describing SOLID as an affirmation of national solidarity that ensures displaced and vulnerable Nigerians “are not forgotten,” Akpabio said health and education are central to building long‑term prosperity, adding that “hope is confidence built on deliberate actions” and that the programmes must deepen social inclusion across all 36 states.
World Bank Country Director, Matthew Verghis, said the programmes demonstrated that Nigeria’s greatest asset remained its people, adding that the institution would continue supporting reforms that improve education, healthcare and social protection.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, said the interventions would help vulnerable and displaced Nigerians transition from emergency relief to resilience and productive livelihoods.
