FG will work with govs to collect valid data of poor people – Betta Edu

Nurudeen Shotayo 10:07 - 26 August 2023

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu. [Twitter:@Doc_steena]

Edu said gathering accurate data will aid the Humanitarian Ministry’s plan of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Betta Edu has disclosed the Federal Government's intention to work closely with state governors, local government and community leaders to verify and update Nigeria's social register.

According to Edu, the move will aid the Humanitarian Ministry’s plan of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

She disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, August 25, 2023, where she also revealed that her ministry has identified the verification exercise as the priority assignment.

“The very first thing which we are starting almost immediately is the verification of the social register. We are going to first carry out full verification of the social register to ensure that truly it is the poorest of the poor – those who deserve to be on that list."

“We are going to verify and update, and we are going to work with the governors and local governments so that they can own it,” the minister added.

Recall that the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), during a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, had faulted the existing social register, stating that it lacked integrity and was unfit to execute any social intervention.

Meanwhile, Edu said for weeks, there has been back and forth with the NGF and several other interested parties saying, “The social register is okay, it’s not okay. The people who are truly poor are not on the list, there is some political influence to it and the rest of it.”

The minister noted that “One of the challenges which they raised was that they were not involved in the process of really getting the poorest of the poor.”