To boost agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating opportunities in the real sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, as well as provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate rollout of the National Construction and Household Support Programme to cover all geo-political zones in the country.
The President made the pronouncement on
Thursday when he appeared at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, chaired by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima.
Under the programme, the Sokoto-Badagry highway, which will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos, is prioritized.
Other road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway, which is underway, and the Trans-Saharan highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja, are also prioritized.
The President has also approved full counterpart financing for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway; to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno State, as well as for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway; which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.
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Within the Sokoto-Badagry highway corridor, there are 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams spread across six states, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), 156 Local Government Areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and over 1 million hectares of arable land.
In addition, other items under the National Construction and Household Support Programme include:
(1) One-off allocation to States and the Federal Capital Territory of N10 billion for the procurement of buses and CNG uplift programme.
(2) Delivery of N50,000 uplift grant each to 100,000 families per State for three (3) months.
(3) Provision for Labour Unions and Civil Society Organisations.
(4) Deployment of N155 billion for the purchase and sale of assorted foodstuff to be distributed across the nation.
Speaking during the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday in Abuja, President Tinubu urged State governors to work together to meet the needs of citizens, stating that he is willing to provide the needed support to ensure that Nigerians are relieved of hardship.
While emphasizing the urgency of boosting food production, the President noted that the Sokoto-Badagry highway is a pivotal project as the States within this axis form the food belt of the nation, and with Badagry being an important artery for food export.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
