The Federal Government plans to fund the
N5,000 monthly allowance for 25 million unemployed youths and the free
school feeding programme from the Treasury Single Account, The PUNCH has learnt.
Our correspondent learnt on Tuesday that
despite dwindling oil revenue, the government believed that some money
that would have gone into private pockets because of the uncoordinated
and multiple bank accounts operated by government agencies, would be
saved through the TSA and be spent on the purpose.
The PUNCH had reported
exclusively on Tuesday that the payment for the social benefit scheme
would start in 2016 after it would have been captured in the year’s
budget.
A source in the Presidency told our
correspondent on Tuesday that funds that would be freed through the
gains that would be derived from the TSA, domiciled in the Central Bank
of Nigeria, would be used for the well-being of Nigerians and the social
safety net would be one of such programmes.
“This government is saving funds that,
in the past, ended up in personal pockets through the TSA. These funds
will come handy for this programme,” the source said.
He also referred our correspondent to a
statement issued penultimate week by the Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while as the spokesperson for the ruling
All Progressives Congress, assured Nigerians that the APC would fulfil
its electoral promises.
“I think Alhaji Lai Mohammed has
addressed the issue of how the programme will be funded in a statement
he issued penultimate week when he was still the APC spokesman. That, I
guess, captured it,” he added.
When asked how the government plans to
finance the programme, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice
President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the details
would be available in the 2016 budget.
“Let us just wait for the 2016 budget. I am sure that all the details will be available in that budget,” he stated.
Meanwhile, another competent source told
our correspondent that the Federal Government had already outlined the
criteria for those who would benefit from its planned Conditional Cash
Transfer scheme.
The CCT aims to reduce poverty by making welfare programmes conditional upon the beneficiaries’ actions.
The government only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria.
The source said two major criteria that
beneficiaries must meet were that they must enrol their children in
schools while also showing evidence of immunisation of the children.
In the statement penultimate Friday by
Mohammed, the APC said even though the Peoples Democratic Party-led
Federal Government plundered the common wealth in its time, it (APC) had
devised creative means not only to pay the money but also to fulfil its
other campaign promises to Nigerians.
It explained that the non-implementation
of the payment policy so far was due to the fact that it was not
included in the 2015 budget, which was prepared by the administration of
former President Goodluck Jonathan and also because of the need to
first block all financial leakages.
“Now, the Buhari administration has been
busy putting in place measures that will make it possible to start the
implementation of this project. Such measures include the introduction
of the Treasury Single Account.
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