According to Dr. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, one of the reasons why public employees have financial difficulties is a lack of basic skills in money management, saving, and investing. Most public employees do not develop a strong saving habit.
The minister said that public employees spend more than they make at the flag-off event of the service-wide financial literacy in the workplace initiative on financial inclusion in Abuja.
The Minister emphasized that the program is intended to educate and sensitize government workers about financial literacy for inclusion in the workplace as it has continued to gain attention globally due to the significant role it plays in economic development and poverty alleviation initiatives. The Minister was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Aliyu Ahmed.
She said that the Central Bank of Nigeria, the ministry, and the Melinda Gate Foundation inked a tripartite agreement with the foundation in 2014 to develop digital financial inclusion projects in Nigeria with the goal of achieving an 80 percent financial inclusion target by the year 2020.
She said that as part of a commitment to significantly increase the level of financial inclusion in Nigeria and, consequently, sustain inclusive economic growth, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy was established, launched in 2012, and revised in 2019.
In January 2023, when the pilot objective of 12,000 government employees would be expected to be met, she emphasized that the program would be expanded to additional MDAs.
The Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Shehu Aliyu Shinkafi observed in his welcoming speech that most public sector workers just earn enough money to cover their basic needs, which is mostly the result of a lack of financial literacy.
This behavior demonstrates a lack of knowledge about how money operates, is earned, managed, invested, and plans for the future, he continued.
According to him, the program’s goal is to ensure that the program’s purpose is met in accordance with the year 2023 financial inclusion target by educating and sensitizing officers in MDAs on financial literacy for inclusion.
In support of this, the Ministry had planned a number of activities, including the flag-off ceremony, a five-day workshop on financial literacy for trainers (ToT) for 25 officers from the implementing Department, conducted by the CBN and German Development Cooperation – GIZ, as well as monitoring MDA performance.
