President Muhammadu Buhari has said the N614 billion bailout to states was to assist them address social menace like almajiri among other pressing needs.
The president, who spoke at the Joint National Conference of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Future Assured Initiative on Repositioning the Muslim Family for National Development, said only stable families can make meaningful contributions to a stable society.
“Most of the challenges affecting the family are within the mandates and the jurisdictions of state governments. In compliance with constitutional stipulations and provisions, we gave bailout to them to assist them in discharging this obligations and statutory mandates. It is our expectations that state governments will rise up to these challenges and do their own part in this social degeneration.”
Buhari said the government would also put more effort in ensuring economic support, and empowering of family members for more stability.
“We have been conscious of the havoc poverty is wreaking on the family. We therefore believe that poverty alleviation is central to safeguarding the integrity of our families.
“Our administration introduced a number of economic empowerment and poverty alleviation schemes. Some of these directly impact on families while others have indirect effect on families through their multiplier effects.
“The first and most robust programme is the Social Investment Programme, which serves as a very broad framework for availing Nigerian families at the grassroots level different forms of economic support.’’
He said many homes had benefitted from the conditional cash transfer, while trader-moni and market-moni schemes have also been impactful.
Almajiri must be taken off the streets – First Lady
Meanwhile, wife of the president, Aisha, has vowed to take the almajiri off the streets.
Mrs. Buhari while regretting that the problem has never been the availability of laws but compliance, insisted that everything must be done to take the Almajiris off the street.
She declared that she is committed to doing more through Future Assured to combat social vices caused by destabilised families especially the Almajiri problem.
Through The Future Assured Initiative, she has been running marriage seminars for years across the country.
Earlier, the Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, had asked President Buhari to ensure the resolutions met at the event are enforced by state governments. The Sun
