- N4.2tr Intervention Will Translate Economic Reforms Into Benefits For Nigerians-Tinubu
- Insists Programmes Will Succeed Through Transparency And Effective Delivery
- Education Programme To Benefit 30 Million Children, 65,000 Public Schools
The Federal Government on Thursday unveiled five major intervention programmes worth about $3.05 billion (approximately N4.2 trillion) to tackle poverty, strengthen the economy, improve healthcare and education, and support vulnerable communities across Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, launched the initiatives in Abuja, describing them as a decisive step towards translating the administration’s economic reforms into tangible benefits for ordinary Nigerians.
The programmes include the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Additional Financing (NG-CARES), the Solutions for Internally Displaced and Host Communities (SOLID) programme, and the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) package comprising HOPE Gov, HOPE PHC and HOPE Edu.
Declaring that the interventions marked the fulfilment of a key campaign promise, Tinubu said: “This is not just a set of programmes; these are promises kept.”
He added, “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.”
The President said NG-CARES would receive about $1.25 billion in additional World Bank financing to support smallholder farmers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, while the $300 million SOLID programme would provide long-term support for internally displaced persons and their host communities.
He also disclosed that the $1.5 billion HOPE package would strengthen primary healthcare, improve learning outcomes, enhance teacher development and reform education governance nationwide.
According to him, the programmes are part of a unified national strategy rather than isolated interventions.
“These five programmes are not separate efforts. They are one coordinated national strategy for poverty reduction, human capital development and community resilience,” Tinubu said.
He argued that recent economic reforms had positioned the country for increased social investments.
“Our real GDP grew by 11.2 per cent and nearly 10 per cent per capita income growth in US dollar terms last year, and we are on track for a repeat this year. Our foreign reserves have surpassed $50 billion. Inflation has fallen sharply from its 2024 peak. These are not abstract figures; they are the foundation for the next phase of our national development,” he said.
Tinubu further revealed that the government’s expanded cash transfer programme had reached 15 million vulnerable households, lifting an estimated 7.5 million Nigerians out of poverty, while stressing that transparency and effective implementation would determine the success of the new interventions.
“The success of these programmes will rest on delivery and transparency,” he said.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, described the initiatives as a direct response to rising poverty and the cost-of-living crisis.
“This event represents yet another milestone in our collective efforts to translate the vision of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President into concrete interventions that directly touch the lives of poor and vulnerable Nigerians,” Bagudu said.
He noted that the first phase of the NG-CARES programme benefited about 17.6 million Nigerians between 2021 and 2025, adding that the fresh financing would expand assistance to farmers, small businesses and vulnerable communities.
Minister of Health and Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare, Ali Pate, said the $570 million HOPE PHC programme would improve access to quality healthcare for about 40 million Nigerians.
“The HOPE PHC programme aims to reduce maternal and under-five mortality rates and enhance the resilience of Nigeria’s health system, benefiting around 40 million people,” Pate said.
He added, “This is about ensuring that a woman in a rural community does not fear childbirth, children access lifesaving vaccines, and families receive treatment for malaria, hypertension and other common illnesses close to home.”
According to the minister, more than 3,000 primary healthcare centres have already been upgraded, another 1,000 are nearing completion, while over 69,000 frontline health workers have been trained. He also said quarterly visits to primary healthcare centres had risen from fewer than 10 million in early 2023 to 45.5 million.
Also speaking, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the $562 million HOPE Edu programme would benefit nearly 30 million children, support 65,000 public schools, train 500,000 teachers and improve education infrastructure nationwide.
“Education remains the biggest investment any responsible government can make for its citizens,” Alausa said.
He added, “Our administration remains committed to ensuring every single Nigerian child has access to quality education and opportunities needed to succeed in the modern world.”
The minister said the programme would also tackle learning poverty, improve literacy and numeracy, and deploy a digital information system to monitor education performance across the country.
