How FG will take 50m Nigerians out of poverty – Minister

The federal government has spelt out some of the specifics that will be done to take 50 million people out of poverty in Nigeria as directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, spoke yesterday during the ongoing cabinet retreat at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

The president had on November 1 announced that ministers would sign a performance agreement with him at the end of the three-day cabinet retreat for ministers, presidential aides, permanent secretaries and top government functionaries.

Edu, while fielding questions from State House reporters, said the ongoing payment of N25,000 to poor households in Nigeria via the conditional cash transfer programme for the next three months, amounting to N75,000, was part of it.

The minister explained that though the programme was for an immediate cushioning of the economic shock that these households are experiencing as a result of fuel subsidy removal, it would contribute to lifting 61million households from poverty.

Edu, who said the process was being carried out rigorously to ensure that the right people get the money, stated that the government was identifying the beneficiaries, verifying their identities through their NINs and BVNs, and ensuring that they were paid.

The minister stressed that the government did not want to rush into paying people and then realise that they didn’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.

“These are 15million households, which automatically amount to about 61million persons. Beyond this, the president is going to be creating jobs for millions of Nigerians through different methods. We are providing zero-interest loans for markets, petty traders, market women, amongst other people.

“We are also supporting poor farmers. We are bringing on board the End Hunger Project. We are equally bringing on board the Good Nigeria Project and several other projects. And each of these projects has the targeted amount of persons who we want to reach through our social safety net projects,” she said.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the election of Danjuma Goje as the senator representing Gombe Central senatorial district.

A three-member panel of justices also dismissed the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Abubakar Aliyu, over the February 25 senatorial election.

The panel upheld the verdict of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Gombe, which had on September 26 dismissed Aliyu and PDP’s petition against Goje and the All

Progressives

(APC).

The petitioners, through their lead counsel, Edwin Okoro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had alleged that the election was marred by massive rigging and irregularities against Goje, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In their verdict, the three panel of judges led by Justice Biobele Georgewill, upheld the tribunal’s verdict and dismissed the petition, saying the petitioners failed to present evidence to support their allegations that Goje had contested under the PDP during the primary election.

Congress

Senate: Appeal Court upholds Goje’s election