A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged President Bola Tinubu to strengthen and comprehensively evaluate the Federal Government’s social intervention programmes.

Mr Oyintiloye made the call while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo, saying it was necessary to cushion the effects of economic hardship on Nigerians.

The APC chieftain said existing interventions covering youth employment, skills development, cash transfers, school feeding, agriculture and other forms of social protection should be reviewed for maximum impact on Nigerians.

Mr Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker, said social intervention programmes should go beyond budgetary allocations to assess poverty levels, employment creation, productivity, household purchasing power and actual improvements in living conditions.

“Such interventions must have clear targets, transparent beneficiary selection, strong monitoring and measurable performance indicators to minimise leakages, duplication and abuse.

“The president must also ensure that public funds produce identifiable benefits,” he said.

The APC chieftain said the president’s efforts to alleviate poverty among Nigerians must not be allowed to be truncated by selfish individuals.

“Since the intervention programmes are meant to alleviate poverty among the masses, every necessary strategy must be put in place to ensure that allocated funds have positive impacts on the lives of less privileged Nigerians,” he said.

He also commended Mr Tinubu for allocating N462.66 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.

He, however, said the poverty rate remained high when compared with that of neighbouring Ghana.

According to him, Ghana’s multidimensional poverty rate stood at 21.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, while Nigeria’s projected poverty level for 2026 was put at about 62 to 63 per cent.

Mr Oyintiloye also called for improved workers’ allowances and welfare packages, saying these would increase purchasing power, stimulate local businesses, strengthen household incomes and enable families to meet essential needs.

The APC chieftain, who noted that millions of Nigerians were living below the poverty line, said the President’s efforts through various intervention programmes to reduce poverty should be further repackaged to meet their expected targets.

He urged Nigerians to continue believing in Mr Tinubu’s capacity to further reduce poverty.

“The hardship Nigerians are presently facing will soon be a thing of the past.

“It is true that the economy is not in good shape and there is poverty in the land, but the President is not sleeping on all these.

“The removal of fuel subsidy and the monetary policy of the President are already putting the country on the right path.

“We all just need to keep praying for the country and continue to play our part to support him to achieve his good plans for the upliftment of the country,” he said.

(NAN)