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By Amaechi Agbo

In its efforts to scale up President Mohammadu Buahri’s policy to get hundred million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years, the federal government Monday distributed 2000 buses, trucks and pickup vans to cooperative societies in the country.

In announcing the distribution of the buses during an Inter-ministerial Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja, the Minister, Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Honourable George Akume noted that the distribution became imperative to alleviate the sufferings of the members of the cooperatives particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister noted that the meeting was unique because it seeks to tackle the issue of poverty eradication from a wealth creation approach using the platform of Cooperative Societies in Nigeria

The minister who said that the 2000 buses are first tranche, added that the ministry envisaged that the distribution and deployment of 2000 buses to these cooperative societies will go a long way in ensuring that jobs are not only created but that an enabling environment for wealth creation is also engendered with the eventual acquisition and ownership of these vehicles by the members of the cooperative societies.

“The Alleviation of Poverty in Nigeria has been and always remains a cardinal agenda of the Administration of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari and this point has been repeatedly stated by Mr. President in several of his speeches. You will kindly recall that President Muhammadu Buhari in his 2019 Democracy Day address said, ‘With leadership and a sense of purpose, we can lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.’

“This point was also recently reiterated in his speech at the general debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly held on 22nd September 2020 where he listed some of the steps taken by his government to tackle and eradicate poverty amongst Nigerian citizens

“The need to tackle and eradicate poverty has become even more accentuated in the aftermath of the Covid 19 Pandemic and its devastating effect on the world economy generally as well the difficulties encountered by the recent deregulation of the downstream sector which is aimed at putting the economy on sound footing.

“It is to be noted that this meeting is unique in the sense that it seeks to tackle the issue of poverty eradication from a wealth creation approach using the platform of Cooperative Societies in Nigeria. It is envisaged that the distribution and deployment of 2000 Buses (being the first tranche) to these cooperative societies will go a long way in ensuring that jobs are not only created but that an enabling environment for wealth creation is also engendered with the eventual acquisition and ownership of these vehicles by the members of the cooperative societies,” he said.

Cooperative societies were introduced in Nigeria in 1928 during and as at 2020, there are over 30 million members of primary cooperative societies in Nigeria with 26, 000 cooperatives.

Other ministries that keyed into the initiative were Agriculture and Rural Development including its Federal Department of Cooperatives; Ministry of Labour and Employment; Ministry of Transportation among others.

CFAO Motors Nigeria will distribute the cars to the cooperative societies across the country.