The Federal Government is investing billions in social protection to fight poverty in Nigeria.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige made the comment at the 2022 World Day Against Child Labour on Thursday in Abuja.
Ngige described the billions spent on social programmes as triple vaccination against poverty.
The minister said the government was taking care of citizens despite the country’s dwindling revenue.
Noting that poverty was fueling child labour, he expressed optimism that good policies would reverse the trend.
“Children are endangered. That is why the government, the ILO and other stakeholders have been working assiduously”, NAN quoted him saying.
Ngige said the parties were trying to end child labour in line with SDG 8.7, and that young workers are protected and work in safe conditions.
He explained that the National Children School Feeding Programme (NCSFP) targets an increase in children’s school enrollment.
Ngige said the policy ensures children are fed with nutritious food, while farmers, traders and cooks make money.
The minister also informed that poverty is being tackled through the conditional cash transfer programme, Trader Moni and N-power.