The House of Representatives, on Sunday, disclosed that it is working on a framework that will lift 16.5 million Nigerians out of poverty.
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.
Note that, 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.
Giving a breakdown, Aliyu added that the objective of the intervention is to lift four million people out of poverty in the north-east; 3.4 million in north-west ; 2.5 million in north-central; 3 million in south-east; 2.1 million in south-south and 1.6m in south-west.
According to the lawmaker, the framework will also ensure that 14 million out-of-school children return to school.
A 2022 report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), shows that over 20 million children and youths are out of school in Nigeria.
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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.
He furthered that the project christened: ‘Nigeria Mass Reduction of Out-of-School Children and Youth Project (NiMPROP)’, will run for four years.
The committee, he posited, 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.
