Vice President Kashim Shettima has applauded the Renewed Hope Baby Support (RHBS) programme, a national human capital infrastructure initiative aimed at providing every Nigerian child with structured identity, healthcare participation, and long-term financial opportunities.
According to him, the RHBS programme, initiated by the North East Development Commission (NEDC), aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of 2026 as the Year of the Family and Social Protection, just as he lauded the Commission for taking proactive steps to translate the President’s vision into concrete action.
Shettima made this known on Thursday when the management team of the NEDC, led by its Managing Director/CEO, Mohammed Goni Alkali, presented the RHBS programme execution framework to him at the State House, Abuja.
“The RHBS is a very timely and strategic initiative. It sits squarely within the North East Stabilisation and Development Masterplan, aligning perfectly with its three critical pillars: peaceful society, healthy citizens, and an educated populace,” he said.
The Vice President demanded “seamless collaboration between the NEDC, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and other relevant agencies to ensure the RHBS achieves maximum impact.
Describing the timing of the programme as auspicious, the Vice President noted that the RHBS “will serve as a strategic palliative that cushions the effects of necessary economic reforms in a dignified and structured manner.
Shettima maintained that the RHBS will further position the NEDC as a key player in the actualisation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the North East, even as he said, “This is the kind of focused, results-oriented intervention we expect from our Regional Development Commissions.”
He disclosed that since the initiative is primarily designed for children, the Presidency will shed more light on the implementation and rollout strategy by May 27, 2026, in commemoration of Children’s Day.
Earlier in her presentation, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Regional Development and NEDC (Office of the Vice President), Mariam Masha, explained that the RHBS programme is a national human capital infrastructure initiative.
According to her, the RHBS programme is designed to ensure every Nigerian child enters life through a structured pathway connecting identity, healthcare participation, and long-term opportunity formation.
Masha, however, stressed that the RHBS is not a social intervention but a structured national operating model for identity inclusion, developmental health participation, and long-term human capital development.
“The necessary infrastructure and political mandate already exist — what is now required is disciplined execution,” she noted.
Deji Elumoye
