Niger State Governor, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has said that the state government has so far spent N3billion towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) through the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) for 2008 and 2009 projects.
Aliyu who spoke when he was given an award of “The International Millennium Development Ambassador” by Global Educator for All Initiative at Government House, Minna, yesterday however said that the nation’s leaders must buckle up to meet the goals by 2015.
He said that poverty was the major problem facing Nigeria and Africa as a whole and contended that Nigeria had no reason to be poor amidst plentiful human and material resources.
The governor posited that the poverty in the country had been that of the mind which was why his administration adopted free education from primary to secondary level, and free health care for all pregnant women in the state.
“Whether MDGs or no MDGs, we must eradicate extreme poverty; every citizen should be entitled to education and good healthcare.
In Niger State, we have free education from primary to secondary school level, and we pay scholarship to our students at tertiary level,” he said.
He said the country might found it difficult to achieve the MDGs unless practical steps were taken to address the critical issues that had slowed down the nation in its path to progress, like unemployment, safe environment, good healthcare and education.??
According to him, even if Nigeria was not able to achieve the MDGs, “at least three quarters of the goals should be achieved before 2015.”