Despite the abundance of poverty alleviation programmes which past governments had initiated and implemented, by 1999 when the Obasanjo administration came to power a World Bank’s report indicated that Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) was only 0.416 and that about 70 per cent of the population was vegetating below the bread line.These alarming indicators prompted the government to review the existing poverty alleviation schemes with a view to harmonising them and improving on them. Three presidential panels were set up in this regard. They were: the Presidential Panel on the Rationalisation and Harmonisation of Poverty Alleviation and Agencies headed by Alhaji Ahmed Joda; Presidential Technical Committee on the Review of all Poverty Alleviation Programmes headed by Professor Ango Abdullahi; and Committees on Youth Policy, Concept of the Youth Empowerment Scheme and the Blueprint for Poverty Eradication Programme headed by Professor A.B. Aborishade.The findings and recommendations of these presidential panels coalesced in the formation of the National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP) in January 2001. This new scheme has been structured to integrate four sectoral schemes.
The first is the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), which is concerned with providing unemployed youth opportunities in skills acquisition, employment and wealth generation. To achieve this, the scheme has been further subdivided into Capacity Acquisition Programme, Mandatory Attachment Programme and Credit Delivery Programme.
The second is the Rural Infrastructure Development Scheme (RIDS). The objective of this scheme is to ensure the provision and development of infrastructure needs in the areas of transport, energy
water and communication especially in rural areas. The scheme has been broken into four parts: the Rural Transport Programme, the Rural Energy Programme, the Rural Water Programme and the Rural Communication Programme.
The third is the Social Welfare Services Scheme (SOWESS) which aims at ensuring the provision of basic social services including quality primary and special education, strengthening the economic power of farmers, providing primary health care, and so on. This third scheme consists of four broad sub-categories which are, the Qualitative Education Programme, Primary Health Care Programme, Farmers Empowerment Programme and Social Services Programme.
The last is the Natural Resources Development and Conservation Scheme (NRDCS). The vision of this scheme is to bring about a participatory and sustainable development of agricultural, mineral and water resources through the following sub-divisions: Agricultural Resources Programme, Water Resources Programme, Solid Minerals Resources Programme and Environment Protection Programme.
The target of the National Poverty Eradication Programme is to completely wipe out poverty from Nigeria by the year 2010. The formulators of the programme have identified three stages to the attainment of this ambitious target.
- The first stage is the restoration of hope in the mass of poor people in Nigeria. This involves providing basic necessities to hitherto neglected people particularly in the rural areas.
- The second stage is the restoration of economic independence and confidence.
- The final stage is wealth creation.
Funding of NAPEP
The Poverty Eradication Fund (PEF) which is administered by the National Poverty Eradication Council directly funds the National Poverty Eradication Programme. However, all poverty alleviation programmes originally budgeted for by participating ministries will continue to be funded from those budgetary provisions under the supervision of NAPEC.
NAPEP is also funded from contributions given to it by state and local governments, the private sector and special deductions from the Consolidated Fund of the Federal Government.
It also gets donations from international donor agencies such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the European Union, the Department for International Development, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, and the German Technical Assistance.
When NAPEP came on stream in January 2001, it was given a take-off grant of N6 billion. This money was used to establish NAPEP structures in 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and 744 local government councils.
Part of the money was also used in the NAPEP employment generation intervention which translated to the training of 100,000 youths, attaching 50,000 unemployed graduates in various places of work, training of over 5000 people in tailoring and fashion design, and the establishment of rural telephone networks in 125 local government areas.
Other uses to which the money was put include the delivery of the KEKE-NAPEP three-wheeler vehicle project involving 2000 units in all the state capitals of Nigeria, the establishment of 147 youth information centers across the senatorial districts, the delivery of informal micro credit ranging from N10,000 to N50,000 to 10,000 beneficiaries most of whom were women, and so on.
From January 2001, NAPEP has intervened in a number of projects. So far about 140,000 youths have been trained in more than 190 practical hand-on trades over a period of three months. Every trainee in this intervention project was paid N3,000 per month while N3,500 was paid to each trainer. The training programme was packaged with the understanding that that beneficiaries would subsequently set up their own businesses in line with the skills they have acquired. To actualize this, 5,000 beneficiaries were resettled with assorted tailoring and fashion design equipment.
Also under the Mandatory Attachment Programme for unemployed graduates, 40,000 beneficiaries were attached in 2001 each of whom was paid a monthly stipend of N10,000. The installation of equipment under the Rural Telephone Project is currently in progress, while the KEKE-NAPEP project is currently being vigorously implemented. The project offers:
- A vehicle with a powerful diesel engine, and a fuel tank capacity of 10.5 litres
- A vehicle whose top speed is up to 80 Km per hour
- A vehicle that is suitable for intracity commuting and commercial passenger carriage
- A vehicle with a passenger capacity of four people
- A vehicle with a payload capacity of 320Kg
- A vehicle with adequate room for passenger luggage
- A vehicle that has a low fuel consumption of 38 km per litre
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF NAPEP
Queen Ebong
