Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the cardinal objectives of the present administration is to tackle the of scourge poverty and foster the kind of inclusive developments that will take marginalized and vulnerable segments of the country out of poverty in the shortest time possible.
Osinbajo stated this Friday at the inauguration of the Senior Executive Course No 38 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos South LGA of Plateau State.
Among the 67 participants of Senior Executive Course 38 is the former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, who has allegedly failed to appear before Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition, investigating the allege N1trillion misappropriation of proceeds from corruption.
It would be recalled that the Senate was said to have approved a warrant of arrest against the former EFCC Boss, but he was seen in full Police uniform in NIPSS as a participants.
The Vice President said, President Muhammadu Buhari choose the theme: “Strengthening Institutional Mechanisms for Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Development in Nigeria” as the theme for Course 38, to enable government tackle the prevailing poverty rate in the country which has now reached an unprecedented and alarming 61%.
“Nigeria ranks 152 out of the 183 countries in the Human Development Index assessment for 2014. This is quite worrisome and requires urgent attention and that is why one of the cardinal objectives of the present administration is to tackle the scourge of poverty”.
The Vice President who was represented by the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, charged the participants to carry out extensive and detailed research on the challenges confronting public institutions saddled with responsibility for implementing poverty reduction and inclusive development programmes in the country.
According to him, the participants’ recommendations at the end of the programme should be geared towards accelerating the quest for sustainable national development and improving the living standard of the citizenry.
Earlier in his welcome address, Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Professor Mohammed Tijjani Bande, said the theme: “Strengthening Institutional Mechanisms for Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Development in Nigeria”, was not only apt but also directly relevant to attempts at finding solutions to many of the social, political and economic problems bedeviling the nation.
Bande who was represented by, Mr. Jonathan Mela, pointed out that apart from running the Senior Executive Course, the institute as part of its mandate introduce another important training programme which is a four weeks course targeted at enhancing the managerial capacities of the middle level officers in both the public and private sectors of the economy.
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