National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) is a 2001 program by the Nigerian government aiming at poverty reduction , in particular, reduction of absolute poverty. It was designed to replace the Poverty Alleviation Program.  NAPEP and NAPEC coordinate and oversee various other institutions, including ministries,which is to coordinate the poverty-reduction related activities of all the relevant Ministries, Parastatals  and Agencies and develop plans and guidelines for them to follow with regards to poverty reduction NAPEP goals include training youths in vocational trades, to support internship, to support micro-credit, create employment in the automobile industry, and help patients.

The program is seen as an improvement over the previous Nigerian government poverty-reduction programmes According to a 2008 analysis, the program has been able to train 130,000 youths and engaged 216,000 people , but most of the beneficiaries were non-poor.

            Upon consideration of the Joda Panel and Abdullahi Committee Reports, fourteen (14) core poverty alleviation Ministries were identified as follows:

i.        Agriculture and Rural Development

ii.      Education

iii.   Water Resources

iv.    Industry

v.      Power and Steel

vi.    Employment, Labour and Productivity

vii.  Women Affairs and Youth Development

viii.Health

ix.    Works and Housing

x.      Environment

xi.    Solid Minerals Development

xii.  Science and technology

xiii.Finance, and National Planning Commission

Similarly, thirty-seven (37) core poverty alleviation institutions, agencies and programmes were identified. The poverty reduction-realted activities of the relevant institutions under NAPEP have been classified into four namely:

(i)     Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) which deals with capacity acquisition, mandatory attachment, productivity improvement, credit delivery, technology development and enterprise promotion;

(ii)   Rural Infrastructure development Scheme (RIDS) which deals with the provision of potable and irrigation water, transport (rural and urban), rural energy and power support;

(iii) Social Welfare Service Scheme (SOWESS) which deals with special education, primary healthcare services, establishment and maintenance of recreational centres, public awareness facilities, youth and student hostel development, environmental protection facilities, food security provisions, micro and macro credits delivery, rural telecommunications facilities, provision of mass transit, and maintenance culture and

(iv) Natural Resource development and Conservation Scheme (NRDCS) which deals with the harnessing of the agricultural, water, solid mineral resources, conservation of land and space (beaches, reclaimed land, etc) particularly for the convenient and effective utilization by small-scale operators and the immediate community.

                 

                                         

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF NAPEP

 NAPEP goals include training youths in

vocational trades,

 To support internship

  To support micro-credit

create employment in the automobile industry

The program is seen as an improvement over the previous Nigerian government poverty-reduction programmes.According to a 2008 analysis, the program has been able to train 130,000 youths and engaged 216,000 people , but most of the beneficiaries were non-poor.

In effect, the current poverty eradication programme of the country is social welfare services and natural resource development, provision of social welfare services and natural resources development and conservation. Details about these are provided in the Blueprint for the schemes under the National Poverty Eradication Programm (as revised in June, 2001). In the attempt to overcome the inadequacies of provisions programmes, the NAPEP Blueprint has the following features (Aliu, 2001:12-13):

·  It adopts the participatory bottom-up approach in programme implementation and monitoring;

·  It provides for rational framework which lays emphasis on appropriate and sustainable institutional arrangement;

·  It provides for pro-active and affirmative actions deliberate targeted at women, youths, farmers and the disabled;

·  It provides for the participation of all registered political parties, traditional rulers, and the communities;

·  It provides for technology acquisition and development particularly for agriculture and industry;

·  It provides for capacity building for existing skills acquisition and training centres;

·  It provides for the provision of agricultural and industrial extension services to rural areas;

·  It provides for institutional development for marketing of agricultural and industrial products; and

·  It provides for integrated schemes for youth empowerment, development of infrastructure, provision of social welfare services and exploitation of natural resources.

What becomes obvious from a careful consideration of the foregoing and their elaborations in the blueprint is much of the problems that attended previous efforts have been sharply focused upon following their identification. Nonetheless, the statement of good intentions and enunciation of measures towards poverty eradication are only necessary but not sufficient conditions. The way forward is to recognize the problems and look beyond to operational and incidental matters that may arise at the level of implementation vis-à-vis pertinent issues that may not have been adequately covered in the blue print