The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha has said that the Federal Government has plans to introduce Monibank for traders and artisans while an Entrepreneurs Bank would also be established to take care of small and medium scale enterprises.
The initiatives which are part of the government’s Social Investment Program, he said will further support the government’s drive to reduce poverty in the country.
The SGF who was speaking at a victory dinner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United Kingdom over the weekend, assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari will intensify his focus on delivering social infrastructure in his second term.
He said the country is already one massive construction site, noting that this will continue to further unlock economic development, and improve the quality of life.
The SGF whose speech was delivered by Abdurrahman Balogun, the SA, Media to Hon Abike Dabiri, while thanking the APC members in the UK and millions of Nigerians for re-electing the president for a second term, promised that the government will be an inclusive government.
According to him, “The boundless talents of Nigerians both within and outside the country will be harnessed for national development. More women, youths and Nigerians in the Diaspora would be brought on board.
“As stated in the Next Level manual, our campaign contract with Nigerians did confirm that the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will intensify its efforts in Security, Economic Restructuring and Fighting Corruption. We have laid the foundation in the last four years and we are committed to seeing matters to the end. We will strive to strengthen our unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group will feel left behind or left out.”
He promised that the nation’s education will be refocused, with the curriculum tweaked to place more emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. “These will surely launch Nigeria into a new realm, positioning her with the developed world in the not too distant future,” he said.
He also promised that the administration will focus on Health care with the intention of building a healthy populace who can hold their own in different areas of endeavour.
“The Home Grown School Feeding Program, catering for the needs of about 10 million pupils now, will be given a fillip, engagement of unemployed graduates, and conditional cash transfer to the poorest of the poor, would also continue,” he said, adding, “Millions of Nigerians would be taken out of grinding poverty in the next four years because poverty reduction will be a deliberate and crucial policy.”
In the power sector, the SGF said that emphasis would be on power generation and distribution as to make a difference in the next four years.
He also noted that Agriculture would continue to have pride of place in terms of funding. According to him, “Lip service had been paid to diversifying the Nigerian economy for decades, but now, it is a reality. Food security will be achieved in the second term. About eight million jobs were generated from the sector in the first term, many more millions are sure to come.
“We have a duty to serve the best interest of Nigerians and committed to run a people-oriented government. We are prepared for the second term tasks and shall not relent on our efforts to make Nigeria Great again.”