Olusola Bello

President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet ded­icated a better part of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednes­day to deliberate on the rising poverty level in the country, and how to remedy the situation.

They rose from the meet­ing with a resolution to ap­prove a new policy frame­work to tackle the menace, under the National Pover­ty Reduction with Growth Strategy

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, gave State House corre­spondents hint into what transpired at the meeting presided over by President Buhari.

According to him, the Federal Government was not unaware of the poverty level but was doing some­thing about it.

He said it was in that line that FEC approved the National Poverty Reduc­tion with Growth Strategy (NPRGS).

Adesina said Vice Pres­ident Yemi Osinbajo is to chair the Steering Com­mittee of the new policy to provide overall guidance for implementation.

He said council also approved the strategy’s incorporation into the me­dium term national devel­opment plan 2021-2025 and agenda 2050 and directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minis­ter of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to prepare a bill for submission to the Na­tional Assembly to make the implementation of the strategy sustainable.

Adesina said: “The Fed­eral Executive Council meeting got concluded, some few minutes back. We have here to brief us on some of the conclusions the ministers for Human­itarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the Minis­ter of State for Petroleum Resources and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“Before we hear from them let me just apprise us with a conclusion on draft policy on National Pover­ty Reduction with Growth Strategy that was also ap­proved by the Federal Ex­ecutive Council.

“The Presidential Eco­nomic Advisory Council had some weeks back sub­mitted the National Pover­ty Reduction with Growth Strategy to the Federal Executive Council, and it was widely debated today, and eventually passed as a conclusion.

“And these are some of the things. The Federal Executive Council noted the worsening poverty sit­uation in the country and the efforts of the Federal Government to redress that situation.

“It’s not as if govern­ment is not aware that there is poverty in the land but things are been done.

“One of it is this Nation­al Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy that was presented today.

“The Council also noted that the president applied to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. Actually, by June 12, this year, that promise will be two years old. It was noted that it is work in progress, and it is work that will get done.

“The council noted that the president has direct­ed the Secretary to the Government of the Fed­eration, and the chairman Presidential Economic Advisory Council on the need to come up with a sustainable Poverty Re­duction Strategy. And that strategy is what is already codified in this volume and it was widely discussed and passed.

“The council noted the contributions of stakehold­ers, comments and obser­vations made by FEC mem­bers on this volume and the presentation of the NPRGS has been duly incorporated into the strategy.

“They also noted the fi­nal articulation of a two volume, National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy, and its major pil­lars.

“The strategy are en­capsulated in these two volumes, which you may need to get familiar with the contents of the strategy.

“A national steering committee, chaired by the vice president is to provide overall guidance for the im­plementation of this strat­egy in these two volumes.

“The council approved the implementation of the National Poverty Reduc­tion with Growth Strategy. It approved the incorpora­tion of the strategy into the medium term national development plan 2021 to 2025 and agenda 2050 and directed the Attorney Gen­eral of the Federation and Minister of Justice to pre­pare a bill for submission to the National Assembly to make the implementation of the National Poverty Re­duction with Growth Strat­egy sustainable.