President Muhammadu Buhari has said the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development was created to consolidate on the achievements of the Federal Government’s N500 billion Special Intervention Programmes.
Before now, the SIPs were domiciled in the Office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The arrowhead of the programme, Maryam Uwais, was reporting to the Vice President until changes that have seen some of the presidential aides in Osinbajo’s office moving out of the Presidential Villa, according to earlier reports.
Buhari in a nationwide broadcast in commemoration of Nigeria’s 59th Independence Anniversary on Tuesday in Abuja, said SIPs would continue to target the poor.
He said: “Our ongoing N500 billion Special Intervention Programme continues to target these vulnerable groups, through the Home-grown School Feeding Programme, Government Economic Empowerment Programme, N-Power Job Creation Programme, loans for traders and artisans, Conditional Cash Transfers to the poorest families and social housing scheme.
“To institutionalise these impactful programmes, we created the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development which shall consolidate and build on our achievements to date.
“To the beneficiaries of these programmes, I want to reassure you that our commitment to social inclusion will only increase.”
He said Nigeria’s population growth rate remained among the highest in the world, presenting both challenges as well as opportunities.
Buhari said it was a collective responsibility to ensure that adequate resources were provided to meet the basic needs of Nigeria’s teeming youth.
“Accordingly, we shall continue to invest in education, health, water and sanitation, as well as food security, to ensure that their basic needs are met, while providing them with every opportunity to live peaceful, prosperous and productive lives,” he said.
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