Betty Edu resumes work, says Tinubu’s govt will lift 133m Nigerians out of poverty

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, said on Monday the current administration would lift 133 million Nigerians out of poverty in the not-too-distant future.

Edu stated this at her first meeting with the Chief Executive Officers of the agencies under the ministry.

The former Cross State commissioner for health was among the 45 ministers inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu on Monday in Abuja.

She promised to ensure transparency and accountability in the ministry.

Edu stressed that the ministry would achieve the target through different interventions and initiatives aimed at lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

The minister said: “What is most important is that we will keep our focus on lifting 133 million Nigerians out of poverty.

“We can do it in phases, a step at a time because with determination and strong will, nothing is impossible.

“We will also achieve the feat with the strong political backing from His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu and every member of the cabinet.

“We will play down on politics because we are here to face the real business of governance.”

The minister, who described as unacceptable the alarming rate of poverty in the country, said all hands must be on deck to address the problem.

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“Different sources of data suggest that we have a population of 200 million Nigerians, which I think we are more than that.

“Out of this population, the sources indicated that 136 million are extremely poor and that is unacceptable.

“We need to bring smiles back to the faces of Nigerians.

“We must reach out to those who are underserved and renew their hope.

“While doing this, we must ensure that we will increase our efforts, and be very sincere, transparent, and accountable,” Edu added.

This is not the first time the Nigerian government would set a target for eradication of poverty in the country.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had in 2016 promised that the government would lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.

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