Tinubu, had on January 2, suspended Halima Shehu as the
chief executive officer (CEO) of NSIPA over alleged financial malfeasance.
The president also suspended Betta Edu as minister of
humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation on January 8. Edu’s ministry
supervises the operations of the NSIPA.
The programmes affected include the N-Power, the conditional
cash transfer (CCT), the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and
the home-grown school feeding initiative.
On March 13, the house of representatives asked the federal
government to resume the implementation of the suspended social investment
initiatives.
Speaking during the interview, Idris said the committee set
up by Tinubu to review the operational mechanism of the national social
investment programme has submitted its report to pave the way for the
resumption of the programmes.
According to the minister, 15 million vulnerable households
will receive N25,000 conditional cash transfers for three months among other
interventions.
FG TO REINVEST
SAVINGS FROM ELECTRICITY SUBSIDY REMOVAL IN POWER SECTOR
On the partial removal of the electricity subsidy, Idris
said the N1 trillion expected to be saved from the policy will be reinvested in
improving power supply and the provision of social services.
He said the disproportionate amount of electricity subsidy
(approximately 40 percent) benefits only about 15 percent of the consumers,
comprising affluent individuals and industrial clusters, who enjoy about 20
hours of power supply.
“It is essential to emphasize that the funds to be saved
from the withdrawal of electricity subsidy will be reinvested in enhancing
power supply across the country and improving other vital social services such
as health and education,” the minister said.
Idris said 85 percent
of the population under the different categorisations of the new electricity
supply regime still enjoy the subsidy.
He said the new Electricity Act, signed by Tinubu, has
strengthened the governance structure of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission (NERC).
The Act, he said, also empowers NERC to severely sanction
electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for infractions relating to
billings and power supply.
Commenting on the post-petrol subsidy intervention
programmes, Idris said the federal government’s plan to invest N100 billion in
the procurement of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses is still on track, noting
that the specifications of the vehicles are “not bought off the shelf”.
He said the government would soon launch conversion centres
across the country to encourage Nigerians to convert their vehicles from fuel
to CNG to cut transportation costs.
FG’S AGRICULTURAL
INTERVENTIONS
Speaking on the ongoing agricultural programmes, the
minister said the federal government has expanded the cultivation of wheat,
rice, cassava, and maize on about 500,000 hectares of farmland under its dry
season farming initiative.
“The President has
mandated us to go out and feel the pulse of the nation and report back to him,”
Idris said.
“We were in Dutse, Auyo, and Hadejia and interacted with the
farmers about the successes of the dry season farming in those areas.”
Idris said Kebbi state is now a hub of tomato farming and
processing in the country through collaboration with a leading food processing
firm, GB Foods, which has “set up a sprawling factory for the production of
tomato paste”.
He said many farmers, mostly women, are now involved in
tomato farming in the state because of the enabling environment and support
from the off-taker, GB Foods, which has shown a remarkable commitment to doing
business in Nigeria.
