As Ministers Take Office, Lay Out Agenda … Betta Edu Unveils Plan for Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund

The newly appointed minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has promised to tackle the nation’s poverty scourge with bold new initiatives.

A day after resuming at the Ministry, Dr Edu who is a former commissioner for health in Cross River State, said she will bring bold new initiatives to drive her agenda to move the over 133 million multidimensionally poor Nigerians out of poverty. Part of her agenda, which she promised to unfold soon, is to set up a Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.

The fund, which will have protocols for administering it, will ensure that the ministry is able to bypass the funding problems for a ministry that is set up to show empathy and improve the lot of vulnerable Nigerians. When she was interviewed on Arise News, the minister said the Trust Fund will be modelled after the CACovid trust fund set up during the COVID-19 epidemic to which governments, corporates and individuals contributed funds to provide interventions and relief during the period. Dr Edu who was health commissioner at this time said a similar plan could galvanise Nigerians of all persuasions to help end poverty and create a prosperous economy.

The Coalition Against Covid (CACovid) raised over N40 billion in a matter of months and some more later during the COVID-19 period and helped in setting up test and treatment centres across the country. Edu is sure such a model will work for poverty alleviation, and promises to clean up and update the social register using measures of tech and dedicated staff, and working with the states and local councils.

After her swearing-in last week, she visited the ministry and declared that she will run an open-door policy as minister. “I am open to suggestions, I am open to advice so I will run an open door policy, I like to listen, I like to learn and I like to teach. I also like to push for results so I can call you at 2 AM because we have to get the job done. A lot of people in Nigeria are living under one dollar ninety cents per day, this will not continue, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that this is the end, we must bring renewed hope.

“Finally, we will be reviewing a number of points as we go along. I will be bringing several innovations on board through the ministry and through the agencies that the ministry supervises but what is must important is that we keep our focus on lifting a hundred and twenty-three million Nigerians out of poverty and yes we can do it with determination and strong political backing from his excellency till we achieve results,” she added.