The federal government has expressed its determination to meet its target of pulling 50 million Nigerians out of poverty, saying that necessary measures are already being put in place to ensure that it does not fail.
The minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, expressed this determination at the ongoing retreat for ministers, federal permanent secretaries, presidential aides and other senior government officials at the presidential villa, Abuja.
She stressed that in the immediate terms, the government had commenced the disbursement of money to poor and vulnerable households after their verification to ensure that they are captured in the necessary databases, including the National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN).
According to her, the disbursement, which starts from N25,000 per household, will last for three months, amounting to N75,000.
She explained: “So we have a couple of things that have been listed out. First and foremost, as you know, there is an ongoing payment of N25,000 to poor households in Nigeria, and this is going to happen for three months, amounting to N75,000.
“Now, this is an immediate cushioning of the economic shock that these households are experiencing. However, we’re taking our time going through the rigorous process. The reason is simple: we want to be sure that the right people get the money, we identify them, they have their NINs, they have their BVNs, and they paid. We don’t want to rush into paying people and then realize that they don’t even exist.
“That’s why we went through the process of verification, and payments have started. Different states across the country can attest to this, and individual poor households as well, and this we will make public so it’s not even secret. Public so that Nigerians can hold us accountable. This is 15 million households, which automatically amounts to about 61 million persons.
“Beyond this, the President is going to be creating jobs for millions of Nigerians through different methods. We’re providing zero-interest loans for markets, petty traders, market women, amongst other people.
“We’re also supporting poor farmers. We’re bringing on board the End Hunger Project, we’re equally bringing on board the Good Nigeria Project, and several other projects. And each project has the targeted number of persons we want to reach through our social safety net projects.
“We have the people who want to reach and an addition of all of these people together will give us a way over 50 million persons that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will directly reach.”
The minister said that in line with the president’s desire to tackle poverty by enhancing quality health care and education, the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation will collaborate with the other relevant ministries to ensure that the multidimensional poverty in the country is dealt with.
She added: “So, we’re running as a team. It is a multi-dimensional issue that has been dealt with. Remember, its multidimensional poverty. So some people are poor, because they do not have access to education, some people are poor because they do not have access to quality healthcare services. Some people are poor because they do not have access to jobs. So it’s multi-dimensional.
“And we are collaborating as a ministry with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, amongst others, to see that we can pull Nigerians out of this multidimensional poverty.”
Edu affirmed that the retreat is invaluable for the participants because it “has been very informative, especially as it concerns administration, governance, leadership, and actually managing the affairs of government at this level. For many people, this has been very useful in setting the agenda for the government.”
She noted that President Tinubu, who said the officials will sign a performance bond at the end of the retreat, is bringing renewed hope, “which is to reach out to millions of Nigerians create jobs, give food security, eradicate poverty, of course, ensure that we have good governance, fight corruption and ensure the rule of law comes into play, amongst other things.”
Edu said as the minister saddled with humanitarian issues and poverty alleviation, she is aware of the huge task ahead and will “go all out and ensure that we meet the deliverables and mandates of the government.”
She added: “We’ve spelt out our deliverables clearly and we’re signing on to the bond and the entire team of the ministry and its agencies, which it supervises, would be on the road to ensure that we deliver and achieve success.
“It’s not going to be an easy task. Mr. President is an A-class president who has a very high charge on what he wants to achieve for Nigerians. Hopes are high. And he will not fail. We will not fail. Nigeria as a country will not fail.
“We’re already on the right trajectory to improving things. We ask for a little patience from Nigerians, cooperation and an understanding of government and government policies. We would be sincere, we would be accountable, we would be out there to push and see that the Renewed Hope Agenda becomes a reality.”
The minister revealed that her ministry’s key performance indicators will be released after the bond has been signed at the end of the retreat.
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