Poverty Alleviation: 15m Nigerians To Benefit From Cash Transfers

The federal government has unveiled plans to reach out to 15 million poor and vulnerable households across the country.

 The minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, also unveiled plans to establish the Presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund as part of measures aimed at lifting over 133 million Nigerians out of poverty and other humanitarian crises.

 Edu, who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during an interactive session with the country director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Jeremie Zoungrana, who was accompanied by deputy director, Health, Population, and Nutrition, Carolin Jehu-Appiah, solicited the Foundation’s technical and financial support towards achieving the feat.

 She said: “We have a huge task on our hands; as we speak now, over 16 million Nigerians are affected by humanitarian crises, either man-made or natural disasters.

 “Of course, security issues and pockets of unrest in different areas have not made this any better. Other natural disasters like the flooding, which we are presently going through, and the opening of a Dam in another country, which will have its effect on Nigeria, are another call for attention to ensure that people are catered for.”

 More so, the minister during a familiarisation session with journalists said the indigents would be reached via a programme domiciled in the ministry; Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT).

  She also hinted that the expanded social register would be used by the ministry to reach the poor.

 Betta said she would swing into action as soon as she gets approval from President Bola Tinubu at the next Federal Executive Council meeting.

 She also said plans are ongoing to unveil the full agenda of the ministry.

 The minister said: “Eradicating poverty is one of the eight-point agenda of the president. Yesterday I was with the World Bank and we had very good deliberations by the grace of God, once we get approval from the president, we will be reaching out to 15 million households. It is an average of 5.7 persons per household.

“We are presenting it at the next Federal Executive Council on Monday and once we get approval, we will swing into action. The 15 million poor and vulnerable households will be reached through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and they will be sourced from the expanded social register.

 “These are ways we intend to hit the ground running and eradicate poverty. President Bola Tinubu is not playing games, I wish I could tell people the president that I know and the president I worked with for the entirety of that campaign, even in his unguarded moment, even when he is joking, you can see through the passion to change this country.

 “He is a man that has achieved at all levels, he is comfortable, he has a name, all he wants to leave behind is a legacy, he wants to leave behind a country that Nigerians can truly look back and say we have a country and dream that is achievable.”

 She further said: “We want to bring Nigerians out of poverty and provide a safety net to those who are poor. I have an illustration to buttress our plans; there is a poverty pit and there are millions of Nigerians already in it and there are those around the pit on the verge of going into the pit, so our job is to give ladders to those who are in the pit to come out and for those who are around the pit to stay away from falling into the pit by providing them with a safety net. We will be doing this as quickly as possible.”

 On the agenda of the ministry, she noted: “We will be coming up with our full agenda of the ministry and what we want to do for Nigerians. The target is to eradicate poverty by 2030 and President Tinubu is committed to this.”