APC Owes A Duty To Poor, Weak And Vulnerable Nigerians Who Cannot Work – Yemi Osinbajo

Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) drafted its manifesto six years ago with a concentration on social investments.

He revealed this via his spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a recent statement in Abuja.

According to Yemi, the party’s social safety initiatives are not just all about kindness, it is actually a mandatory responsibility that must be carried out.

He added that the APC government owes a duty to the poor, weak and vulnerable citizens who are unable to work, which is why it was included in its manifesto in 2014.

His words, “Convinced that government owed a duty to the poor, the weak, the vulnerable and those who cannot work, the APC in 2014 included in its manifesto a social safety initiative to specifically address poverty amongst other things.

“Listening to each story of a life touched this evening must remind us of the many others who need our help, our comfort and our kindness; the poor and vulnerable always need a voice.

“In 2014, Mr Wale Edun, Prof. Pat Utomi and I met at Utomi’s home to write portions of the manifesto of the APC.

“We all agreed that a fundamental pillar of our party’s plans must be to create a social safety net for the people.

“We were convinced that government owed a duty to the poor, the weak, the vulnerable and those who cannot work.’’

He said that the government is giving monthly cash to almost one million households as part of its conditional cash transfer scheme.

He continued, “We have given, as at the last count, 2.2 million loans to petty traders whose inventories are no more than N5, 000.

“We have also engaged about 500, 000 young men and women who have been unemployed – over different periods of time-under our N-Power programme.

“But we are still very far from touching majority of those who need help; it is clear, that to do so, we need far more resources behind that programme.

“This is why the work of social conscious companies like Airtel is so vital; bridging the huge gap between what government can do and what is left to be done.”