Edu seeks Information Ministry’s support for poverty alleviation in Nigeria

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, has sought the support of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation (FMINO) so as to reduce the level of suffering among Nigerians.

FMINO, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, said that Edu was on a visit to the Minister of Information & National Orientation, Alh. Mohammed Idris, in an effort to alleviate poverty in Nigeria.

“The Honourable Minister of Information & National Orientation, Alh. Mohammed Idris, receives the Hon. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, on a visit to solicit the support of the Ministry and its parastatals on her Ministry’s programs,” it wrote.

Meanwhile, Edu pointed out on Sunday the need for Nigerians to lend their support to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his bid to deliver on the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ aimed at ushering in a new lease of life for everyone in the country.

She said this in a statement signed by her spokesperson, Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, in commemoration of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence anniversary on October 1, 2023.

Edu thereafter flagged off the verification of the National Social Register (NSR) in Oko Agbon, Adogbo, Migbewhe, Makoko, Sogunro, and Apollo villages in Lagos State, south-west Nigeria, with a promise to get Nigerians a social register with integrity.

The National Social Register Verification will be extended to other parts of Lagos State after the flag-off.

The exercise, which commenced simultaneously across the country in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, will last for three weeks.

Speaking shortly after she carried out door-to-door verification of the register at the remote Lagos suburb, the Minister, who was ferried in a canoe, said the federal government was ready to put money into the hands of Nigerians to assist them in their businesses, education of their children, livelihood and job creation.

“Federal government is going to put money into the households in Nigerians to assist them in terms of their businesses, livelihoods, education, to be able to pay fees for their children, improve access to social services, subsidise their daily transportation cost, give them spending power to provide for basic health care needs, job creation, etc,” she said.

“For us to do this, we need to verify the National Social Register. The President has approved that we should go down to the grassroots and ensure that the National Social Register is a true reflection of truly poor people.

“We need to verify that people on the list live below one dollar 95 cents a day and are affected by multi-dimensional poverty, and sincerely, those who need help; those who have no business being there should be removed; those who need to be on the register should be included.

“We are doing both community targeting and geographical targeting; we have seen that certain areas of Makoko have been covered by the NSR, while certain areas have not been captured. We will capture them.

“The activities we will flag off here are being carried out across the country, working with states and communities. Our state governors will chair the steering committee at the state level, while the local government areas and community leaders will be involved in achieving NSR with integrity.

“We want to ensure that those who will be getting the money are those who truly need it with zero political, social, or personal interference,” she said.