Government Intervention Programs Linking with Poverty Alleviation: An Empirical Investigation, the Case of Nigeria
Waziri Musa *
School of Government, College of Law, Government, and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia.
Ahmed Zubir Bin Ibrahim
School of Government, College of Law, Government, and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia.
Zainal Bin Md. Zan
School of Government, College of Law, Government, and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study assessed the significant relationship between government anti-poverty intervention programs (Youth empowerment scheme and conditional cash transfer) and poverty alleviation in Niger state-Nigeria, in order to evaluate their impact on the target beneficiaries in the nine local government areas within the three senatorial districts selected for the study. The paper adopts a quantitative method using PLS path modeling to establish the statistical relationship between the two anti-poverty government intervention programs and poverty alleviation in Niger state-Nigeria. The findings revealed that both youth empowerment scheme and conditional cash transfer programs are significant to poverty alleviation and made a beneficial impact to the target beneficiaries. The socio-economic assessment of the respondents further justified the above assumption. It was also observed that government intervention programs on poverty alleviation have made a successive effect on poverty reduction in Nigeria. The study recommends for concerted efforts of all stakeholders on a strategic framework capable of enhancing transparency and accountability in order to enhance effective policy implementations and appropriate execution of a well-planned policy framework of those programs. In addition, adequate provision of budgetary allocation is necessary for the fight against poverty alleviation in Nigeria.
Keywords: Poverty alleviation, intervention programs, government, youth empowerment, conditional cash transfer.