The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has announced that the Federal Government will work with the Cross River State Government to provide grants to vulnerable groups on Christmas Day.
Edu stressed that the idea is to reach the poorest of the poor in the grassroots, especially, during this Christmas.
She spoke at Utomo Obong 2023, Saturday, held at Adiabo, the country home of the revered first-class Efik monarch in Cross River State.
Utomo Obong is an annual event where the 12 clans of the Efik kingdom and other well-wishers pay homage to their King, Obong of Calabar.
Her words: “We’ve put together names of vulnerable groups in Cross River and we are beginning with those in the Cross River South senatorial district where we will flag it off on Christmas day. The idea is to reach the poorest of the poor in the grassroots, especially, during this Christmas.
“These little funds put into their pockets will help them start micro businesses that can help sustain their families and pull them out of poverty, so we have a full package for Cross River and we believe that Cross Riverians are ready.
“We have a criteria which is the poverty index and we have a checklist. We reached out to all the communities in the southern part of the state, the wards, the villages and people who matched this criteria were selected out of the many, so this is the first phase.”
The minister confirmed that the exercise would also be held in the Central and North Senatorial Districts of the state, stressing that only 5,000 people would benefit from the first phase in the Cross River South District.
“I am happy to be here in Calabar the Efik kingdom to attend the Utomo Obong for 2023. Our King the Obong of Calabar is an ‘A’ class king and he brings together all his people in different clans and well-wishers who wish Cross River State and Efik kingdom well together for this event once every year.
“We are here to share culture, we are here to share good times and we are here to share renewed hope for the people of Cross River State and for the Efik kingdom, it’s a time where we share ideas and prepare for the next year.
“So, from me, the ministry of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, as well as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we wish the Obong of Calabar more success, long life and we wish the Efik kingdom greater exploit as we all collaborate to pursue peace and development of Cross River State and of Nigeria.”
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