President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a nationwide grassroots-focused initiative aimed at combating poverty and stimulating economic growth across Nigeria’s 8,809 political wards.
The new initiative, titled the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP), was formally adopted on Thursday during the 150th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held at the State House, Abuja.
Conceived as a core component of Tinubu’s broader Renewed Hope Agenda, which targets a $1 trillion economy by 2030, the RHWDP seeks to strengthen rural development through coordinated interventions in poverty alleviation, food security, infrastructure, energy access, and job creation.
Addressing state governors at the meeting, President Tinubu called for urgent action to uplift citizens at the grassroots level.
“Let us change the story of our people in the rural areas,” he said. “The economy is working. We are on the path of recovery, but we need to stimulate growth in the rural areas.”
Under the new strategy, each ward will host a minimum of 1,000 to 2,000 economic activities depending on its size. The programme will be supervised by a National Steering Committee, with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning serving as its secretariat.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who presented the programme to the Council, emphasised that implementation would involve collaboration among all three tiers of government.
To ensure effective execution, Tinubu announced the relocation of the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation to the presidency. He also directed the expansion of the national school feeding programme to boost school enrolment and combat child poverty.