Buhari’s Aide, Joke Orelope, urges support for President’s poverty eradication efforts, tells how “Nigeria can defeat poverty”

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, has called for concerted efforts to eradicate poverty in the country.

The Presidential aide, who said this in the statement she issued to mark the 17 October International Day for the Eradication of Poverty availed to The DEFENDER by her aide Desmond Otomwen, with the theme, “Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty,” specifically called on all stakeholders at national and sub-national levels of government, the private sector and other partners of Nigeria to support the actualization of the promise by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to lay the foundation for the lifting of 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.

While noting that eradication of poverty is crucial to the achievement of the other global goals, Princess Orelope-Adefulire noted that this year’s International Day is being marked on the cusp of three decades of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities.

“In tune with this and the theme of this year’s International Day for Eradication of Poverty, I therefore task all stakeholders on introduction of innovative policies for eradication of poverty through empowerment of families. Eradication of poverty and empowerment of families will help enhance the right of every child to a standard of living necessary for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development,” said Orelope-Adefulire.

She also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for making reduction of extreme poverty and hunger one of the cardinal objectives of his administration.

The Presidential aide noted that the commitment of the President to lay the foundation for lifting approximately 100 million Nigerians out of poverty is in line with the aspirations of the SDGs.

Princess Orelope-Adefulire, who is also a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, also recalled that President Buhari had in Nigeria’s statement he delivered at the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly acknowledged that eradication of poverty is an indispensable requirement for achieving sustainable development.

She also noted that in tune with the theme of this year’s International Day for Eradication of Poverty, Buhari’s administration ambitious National Social Investment Programme which is targeted at the poor and vulnerable members of the Nigerian population is already tackling and addressing the root causes of poverty in all its manifestations at the level of households across the country.

“As has been attested to by reputable institutions in an outside the country, including the Africa Development Bank, World Bank and the World Economic Forum,  while the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSF) component is feeding almost 10 Million school pupils daily and empowering over 90,000 local catering staff across the country, the Conditional Cash Transfer Component, is reaching out to approximately 300,000 poor and vulnerable households across the country.

“Also, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme component has provided over a million loans to petty traders and small entrepreneurs across the country.

“This is in addition to the N-Power Programme, a youth employability and enhancement programme under which 500,000 youths have been empowered with the needed skills for the job market,” she said while noting that the recent domestication and customization of the Integrated Sustainable Development Goals, iSDGs for Nigeria was another step in this regard.”

She added that with commitment by relevant stakeholders, Nigeria can defeat poverty.