President Bola Tinubu launches $3.05 bn poverty‑reduction programmes and readies for UN General Assembly

President Bola Tinubu unveiled five coordinated programmes worth about $3.05 billion – NG‑CARES, SOLID and the HOPE package (HOPE‑GOV, HOPE‑PHC, HOPE‑EDU) – aimed at reducing poverty, strengthening community resilience and expanding human‑capital services across Nigeria. The World Bank will provide roughly $1.25 bn to NG‑CARES for smallholder farmers and micro‑businesses, $300 m to SOLID for internally displaced persons and host communities, and $1.5 bn to HOPE for primary health care, basic education and governance reforms. Tinubu said the interventions translate recent macro‑economic gains (11.2 % real GDP growth, rising foreign reserves, falling inflation) into tangible benefits, noting that cash‑transfer programmes have already reached 15 million vulnerable households.

In a separate move, Tinubu signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination 2026, creating a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria with the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission as vice‑chairs. The order seeks to close regulatory gaps, protect Nigerians from fraud and harmonise oversight of digital‑currency activities.

The president also confirmed he will attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in September, where he will speak on Nigeria’s reform agenda and advocate for stronger West African border policing. Additionally, his administration inaugurated a Working Group on the National Policing Bill, signalling progress on a dual‑policing structure and broader counter‑terrorism efforts.