POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMME (PAP) | MARTINS LIBRARY

            This was an interim measure introduced early in 2000 to address the problems of rising unemployment and crime wave, particularly among youths. It was ultimately aimed at increasing the welfare of Nigerians. Essentially, the primary objectives of PAP are three- fold:

·   Reduction the problem of unemployment and hence raise effective demand in the economy;

·   Increase the productiveness of the economy; and

·   Drastically reduce the embarrassing crime wave in the society. One could glean from government pronouncements that the targets. Components of the PAP include the following, among others:

·   Provide jobs for -200,000 unemployed;

·   Create a credit delivery system from which farmers would have access to credit facilities.

·   Increase the adult literacy rated from 51 percent to 70 percent by year 2003;

·   Shoot up health-care delivery system from its present 40 percent to 70 percent by year 2003

·   Increase the immunization of children from 40 to 1000 percent.

·   Raise rural water supply from the present 30 percent to 60 percent and same for rural electrification.

·   Embark on training and settlements of at least 60 percent of tertiary institutions graduates; and

·   Development of simple processes and small scale industries. To actualize the objective of PAP several measures were put forward in the 2000 Budget as well as other policy documents such as;

·   Increase in the salary of public sector workers that has been decimated over the past two decades;

·   Improving the supervisory capacity within the nation’s institutions

·   Rationalization of organizations and methods within the system, particularly that of the existing 16 poverty alleviation institutions in Nigeria;

·   Encouraging and rewarding all deserving Nigerian for industry and enterprise.

·   Substantial reduction of avenues for easy and illegitimate acquisition of wealth; and

·   The launching of Universal Basic Education Programme, the orientation of the PAP is holistic in nature, and if properly planned and managed could tame the menace of poverty in Nigeria but inspite of the broad feature of the programme emphasis seemed to have placed more on the creation of jobs through public work system.

To this end, avenues were to be provided for the gainful employment of 200,000 idle hands. This aspect of the porgramme was designed to provide jobsn for at least 5000 unemployed in each state. To actualize the programme, the federal government earmarked N10 billion, which was later raised to N17 billion by the senate. No doubt, this pointed to the government’s commitment to the programme. However, in implementation, the progamme appeared to be ad-hoc in orientation with little attention paid to the policy framework. The emphasis on massive construction and other public work projects made it look like a one-off affair rather making it a revolving one.

            The programme also paid little attention to the framework of allocation funds sustainability aspect of the PAP and the needed collaborative arrangements its success. The political connotation of the PAP served as an important threat to the success of the programme. The programme was portrayed as the ruling party’s programme and hence had met with resistance from the chief executive of the states controlled by other political parties. This was quite noticeable in the launching of the programme at the state level in February, 2000.

            Besides the PAP also emphasized provision of credit to micro-enterprise and trading to the exclusion of income and employment generating projects. The programme also lacked appropriated framework for beneficiary targeting. The timing and phasing of the direct labour (200,000 jobs) were not explicitly stated.