- Says I Am Prepared To Provide Support, But We Must Achieve Result
- States Must Work Together To Deliver On Critical Reforms To Meet Needs Of The People
- FG To Provide Solar Powered Irrigation Facilities To Support Farmers All Seasons
As Nigerians continue to groan under biting economic hardship, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rolled out fresh plans.
Rising from a meeting with the country’s governors and ministers at the State House on Thursday, President Tinubu approved the immediate rollout of the National Construction and Household Support Programme to cover all geo-political zones in the country.
Furthermore, the President urged the governors to meet the target on food security while approving the immediate roll-out of the National Construction and Household Support Programme to cover all geo-political zones in the country.
The Matrix reports that earlier on Thursday, President Tinubu and Vice President Kassim Shettima met with governors of the 36 states of the Federation and some ministers.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Among 63 Countries Facing Food Poverty, Says UNICEF
The meeting was to deliberate on a new minimum wage for workers in the country, as well as other economic matters.
The President and the governors met at the 141st meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), which took place in the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Under the programme rolled out by the President on Thursday, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos, is prioritized.
Other road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is underway, and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja, are also prioritized.
The President has also approved full counterpart financing for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway; to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno, as well as for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway; which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.
The Sokoto-Badagry road project is specially prioritized for its importance as some of the states it will traverse are strategic to the agricultural sustainability of the nation.
READ ALSO: Cholera Outbreak: Lagos Council Suspends School Food Vendors As Death Toll Rises
Within the Sokoto-Badagry Highway corridor, there are 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams spread across six states, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), 156 local government areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and over 1 million hectares of arable land.
In addition, other items under the National Construction and Household Support Programme include:
One-off allocation to states and the Federal Capital Territory of N10 billion for the procurement of buses and CNG uplift programme.
Delivery of N50,000 uplift grant each to 100,000 families per state for three (3) months.
Provision for labour unions and civil society organizations.
Deployment of N155 billion for the purchase and sale of assorted foodstuff to be distributed across the nation.
Speaking during the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday in Abuja, President Tinubu urged state governors to work together to meet the needs of citizens, stating that he is willing to provide the needed support to ensure that Nigerians are relieved of hardship.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Among 63 Countries Facing Food Poverty, Says UNICEF
While emphasizing the urgency of boosting food production, the President noted that the Sokoto-Badagry Highway is a pivotal project as the states within this axis form the food belt of the nation, and with Badagry being an important artery for food export.
“Our states must work together to deliver on the critical reforms required of us to meet the needs of our people. Time is humanity’s most precious asset. You can never have enough of it. It is getting late.
“We are ready and able to support you in the form of the mechanization of your agricultural processes and the provision of high-quality seedlings.
“We are prepared to provide solar powered irrigation facilities to support our farmers across seasons, but we must now produce. We must produce the food our people eat, and it will require coordination and intentionality between members of the National Economic Council (NEC).
“There is nothing we are doing that is more important than producing high-quality food for our people to consume, buy, and sell. We create jobs in the production of it. And that is before we generate wealth by exporting the excess. It is not beyond us to achieve this for Nigerians.
READ ALSO: New Minimum Wage: I Need More Time To Consult- Tinubu
“How much support do you need from me and in what form? I am prepared to provide it. But we must achieve the result. We must deliver on our targets at all levels. Please report back following your consultations and submit to my office within seven days,” President Tinubu said.
