Betta Edu: How Tinubu Approved N32.7bn For Vulnerable People-Minister
* Concerns Over Lack of Evidence-based Databank of Vulnerable Groups
By Kolawole Ojebisi
Nentawe Yilwata, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, on Friday, announced that President Bola Tinubu approved the sum of N32.7 billion for the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).
The minister noted that the money is aimed at supporting vulnerable groups across Nigeria.
Yilwata made the announcement during the launch of the state action plan for durable solutions for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Makurdi, Benue state.
Recall that on January 12, 2024, Tinubu suspended all programmes administered by the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) as part of a probe of alleged mismanagement of the agency and its programmes.
Prior to this decision, Tinubu had suspended Yilwata’s predecessor, Betta Edu following widespread anger over an alleged N585 million scandal.
Edu’s suspension morphed into dismissal as confirmed by Tinubu’s aide, Bayo Onanuga, following the president’s cabinet reshuflle which led to the disengagement of some ministers.
Onanuga had simply said, “Betta Edu is gone”. However, on December 3, 2024, the house of representatives asked the president to mandate Wale Edun, minister of finance, to unfreeze all accounts of the NSIP agency within 72 hours.
NSIPA supervises the social investment programme. Speaking at the event, Yilwata said the approval aligns with the president’s renewed hope agenda, which prioritises the welfare of the country’s most vulnerable populations.
The funds, he said, will be disbursed as non-collateral and interest-free loans to vulnerable Nigerians, particularly women and youth, through cooperative societies.
Yilwata encouraged Nigerians to form cooperatives to take advantage of the scheme.
“We will give you between N300,000 and N400,000 as household loans. So, if you have a cooperative of 20 people, for example, then it means you have N300,000 multiplied by 20, that’s six million naira,” Yilwata said.
“We also have the N-Power, which the president has asked us to redirect. We should reform it and make them more productive.
“We should link the youth, not just by training them alone, but we should link them to the market space and the private sector.
“To ensure that is done, the president has procured over 100,000 items that can empower over 100,000 youths across the country.”
Also, Yilwata said Tinubu has approved the implementation of a large-scale conditional cash transfer programme.
He said the initiative aims to reach 70 million Nigerians, with at least 15 million households set to benefit.
The minister said each of the households — comprising four to five members — will receive a total of N75,000, which will be distributed in three instalments.
But the minister failed to address how to track those vulnerable and prepare an evidence-based data base of vulnerable groups in Nigeria. This a long standing problem which all previous ministers in that ministry had faced including the current minister.
