Reps: We’re working to lift 16.5m Nigerians out of poverty

The house of representatives says it is working on a framework that will lift 16.5 million Nigerians out of poverty.

In a statement on Sunday, Almustapha Aliyu, chairman of the house committee on alternative education, said in the past weeks, “several” engagements were held with relevant government agencies towards actualising the goal.

A 2022 data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.

The lawmaker said the needed machinery has been put in place to achieve the intervention which is targeted at reducing poverty in the six geo-political zones of the country.

Providing a breakdown, the lawmaker further said the objective of the intervention is to lift four million people out of poverty in the north-east; north-west 3.4 million; north-central 2.5 million; south-east 3 million; south-south 2.1 million; and south-west 1.6m.

‘WE’LL ENSURE 14M OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN RETURN TO CLASS’

The lawmaker said the framework will also ensure that 14 million out-of-school children return to school.

According to a 2022 report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), over 20 million children and youths are out of school in Nigeria.

Early this year, Adamu Adamu, the then minister of education, said Nigeria accounts for 12.4 percent of out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Aliyu said the out-of-school children will also be trained with relevant skills to become productive members of their communities.

The lawmaker said the intervention by the lower legislative chamber under the leadership of Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, in partnership with government agencies, will improve access to education for all Nigerian children in line with the aspirations of sustainable development goals.

The legislator said the project christened: ‘Nigeria Mass Reduction of Out-of-School Children and Youth Project (NiMPROP)’, will run for four years.

He added that the committee will work with concerned government agencies including; the national commission of almajiri and out-of-school children; the national commission for mass literacy, adult and non-formal education; and the national commision for nomadic education.