Nigeria’s Border Community Development Agency (BCDA) says it targets 40% improvement in rural human capacity building in a five-year roadmap it has developed for the country.

The abridged framework of the roadmap, which was presented to the board of the agency at a meeting on Monday, chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, plans a series of micro-projects in a five-year medium-term development plan.

The roadmap also plans to modernise about 3,000 communities around 21 states and 105 local governments in the country; to lift up to 30 million Nigerians living in border communities out of poverty line; and to improve healthcare by 40%.

Also in the roadmap are plans to increase access to qualitative and affordable education at the primary school by 40% and to increase access to markets and transportation facility.

The BCDA hopes to achieve these by, among other strategies, improving rural water supply, rural electrification, skills acquisition and ecological restoration.

Executive Secretary of the BCDA, Captain Junaid Abdullahi, who spoke with State House correspondents after the meeting on Tuesday, said “the board has graciously approved” the abridged version of the roadmap.

“We are going to go ahead with the expanded framework for a strategic five-year plan.

“What we seek to do is to build on what we have done so far in the border communities.

“This will involve more funding for the agency. All these are contained in the document we presented,” he further said.

Abdullahi did not indicate when the complete version of the roadmap would be ready.