Finally Buhari to give primary school pupils free meals

Firstclass newsline gathered that the vice-President Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo on Tuesday said the President Muhammadu Buhari's
administration would soon commence giving primary school children free
meals.
The vice president said the free feeding scheme was a core project of
the Federal Government that would in turn yield about 1.14 million
jobs and increase in food production.
Osinbajo said this at the 45th Annual Accountants Conference in Abuja.
He said the government would be investing more in the people,
education and job creation.
Speaking on the topic "Repositioning Nigeria for Sustainable
Development: From Rhetoric to Performance," Osinbajo said that the
multiplier effects of the introduction of the school feeding scheme
would help to create 1.14 million new jobs; increase food production
by up to 530,000 metric tonnes per annum, as well as attract fresh
investments up to N980bn.
He said, "One of the most important interventions required in the
education sector is capacity building to improve teacher quality.
"This programme is intended to drive teachers' capacity development;
boost basic education; attract talents to the teaching profession.
Better educated population increases economic potential for
productivity."
"The All Progressives Congress has made a commitment to provide
one-meal-a-day for all primary school students; that would create jobs
in agriculture, including poultry, catering and delivery services."
The vice president decried the high rate of employment in the country
in spite of the fact that Nigeria had recorded high oil prices, Gross
Domestic Product and foreign reserves during the previous
administrations.
This, according to him, has made it clear that such figures, including
a rise in revenue by itself, do not create jobs or significantly
reduce poverty level in the country.
"So, why are most (of our people) poor despite rising revenues and GDP
growth? Our main revenue earners, the extractive oil and gas economy,
do not by themselves create many jobs. Such is the irony of a top-down
economic model; when the major revenue earner is extractive and the
value chain is poorly developed," he argued.
Osinbajo also said there was need for the government to improve the
power sector and have a one-stop shop for approvals of investments.
Other areas of focus in the Buhari economic plan, as espoused by his
deputy, are innovation and fighting piracy; diversification of the
economy in the areas of agriculture to achieve self-sufficiency in
rice and wheat (staples) production; manufacturing; entertainment and
technology.
On the power sector, he noted that "despite the challenges, there have
been measurable improvements over the past three months (June to
August 2015)."
He said, for instance, there had been a 26 per cent increase in
operational generation capacity (June to August 15, 2015 compared to
January to May 2015); decrease in pipeline vandalism, boosting of gas
supply; and a 10 per cent reduction in transmission losses.
Other achievements in the sector, he said, included reduction in red
tape to remove delays; blocking the 450MW Azura-Edo IPP and the 500MW
Exxon Mobil Qua-Iboe IPP; and the imposition of a September 2015
deadline for the submission of the DisCos' revised tariff
trajectories.
The vice president said there was no going back on the Treasury Single
Account policy of the Federal Government, saying the TSA would address
issues of non-transparency, especially among revenue generating
agencies.
He frowned at the activities of revenue generating agencies of
government that did not remit funds into the Federation Account as and
when due.
Firstclassnewsline.net