The Special Adviser to Imo state Governor on Sustainable Development Goals and Humanitarian Services, Princess Christina Ude who is the Focal Person NSIPs Imo State, revealed that, the federal government has approved the continuation of the conditional cash transfer across the 27 Local government areas of Imo state, against the 9 LGA that benefited from the Empowerment program recently.
She disclosed this during an interactive session with Announcer Express Newspaper Correspondent, Peter Dibia in her SDGs Complex office on Akanchawa road new Owerri, Beside NtA.
According to her, Nigeria’s Conditional Cash Transfer program provides targeted cash transfers to the most vulnerable households with the long-term goal of lifting millions out of poverty.
However, its on record that, the Nigeria’s conditional cash transfer, is one of the National Social Investment Program of Nigeria is a social welfare initiative created by the Federal government of Nigeria in 2016 under the direction of the National Social Investment Office. The Program was created to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable populations, including children, youth, and women. Under President Muhammadu Buhari the office has created four programs to address poverty and help increase economic development.
Our investigations has it that, these four programs of the federal government to lift up millions of Nigerians from poverty ,has been running in Imo state under the care of Princess Christina Ude as the Imo state focal Person being the special Adviser to Imo state government on SDGs and humanitarian affairs.
The programs include, N-Power Programme which is a job created for skills empowerment programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The Programme is designed to target Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35 and aims to help young Nigerians acquire and develop life-long skills to become practical solution providers in their communities, enabling them to become innovative players in the domestic and global markets.
Government Enterprise and
Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is a micro-lending investment programme that provides businesses for the bottom of the financial pyramid. The beneficiaries include traders, women cooperatives, market women, enterprising youth, farmers, and agricultural workers at no interest rate.
The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP)aims to deliver a cost-effective home grown school feeding programme with a specific focus on increasing school enrollment, reducing the incidence of malnutrition especially among the poor; empowering cooks while supporting local agriculture through small holder farmers, thereby stimulating economic growth through the socio economic value chain. The primary focus of the Programme is to provide free school meals with food procured from local smallholder farmers by strengthening communities across the country.
In order for these programs to function properly in the state, Hon Ude stated that the Governor of Imo state, his Excellency Senator Hope Uzodimma has been very supportive and encouraging, as all achievement by the office was as result of the governor’s backing she added. Moreso, it was gathered that, GEEP will take place in lmo state under her watch and that of the governor, for the first time for the history of Imo state.
