Vice President, Yemi OsinbajoVice President Yemi Osinbajo has made it clear that the government which he and President Muhammadu Buhari run does not regret the fact that it concentrates more on the welfare and well being of the poor Nigerians than any other category of the citizenry.
He insisted that the sole concern of the government is that the resources of Nigeria must be used for the man and woman who need it the most, which explains the focus of the administration’s entire economic policy on the poor.
Professor Osinbajo, who spoke today, Tuesday, while monitoring the ongoing disbursement on the N10,000 collateral and interest-free loans under the Trader Moni Scheme in Dutse, Jigawa State, stressed that the government had, in the past few years, tried to give hope to the common Nigerian through the various schemes for women, men and youths, regardless of their backgrounds.
“Mr. President’s sole concern is that the resources of our country must be used for the man and woman who need it the most; the people in our society who are working hard; the farmers, the traders, and all of the young people who need jobs. That is the focus of Mr. President’s entire economic policy. It is on giving the common man hope so that they can live decent lives; they can provide shelter for themselves, feed and live well.”
The Vice President looked back at the past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government which he said, embarked on “mindless stealing of resources,” saying: “if the money of our people was not stolen, there would be enough for us to do what we want to do. The money that we make as a country must not be stolen by a few people.”
He said that despite the challenges associated with the fall in oil prices, President Buhari is still committed to giving hope to the poorest Nigerians hence, the implementation of the various components of the Social Investment Programmes.
“Under the Trader Moni Scheme, we are giving 2million people across Nigeria, N10,000 collateral-free loans with the possibility of increasing the amount within six months.
“Here in Jigawa, we have given 30,000 petty traders and only today, we gave extra 2,000 to 5,000 traders, and all together, we have given about 35,000 people the loans in Jigawa alone.
“We also have the Market Moni scheme which is another initiative for traders that are bigger than the petty traders and we start from N50,000 to N350,000.”
The Vice President said that Jigawa State has the highest number of beneficiaries nationwide in the area of Conditional Cash Transfer scheme.
“This is the state where we have given the largest number of people; we have given 37,000 beneficiaries in this state, and every month these people receive the transfers.”
The Conditional Cash Transfer is a N5,000 monthly provision for the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians.
