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Tag: humanitarian minister

  • I will not circumvent civil servants’ functions – Humanitarian minister

    I will not circumvent civil servants’ functions – Humanitarian minister

    Prof. Nantawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, has promised to work with integrity and transparency and not to circumvent the functions of civil servants in the ministry.

    Yilwatda gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja when he assumed office as the substantive minister of the ministry.

    He took over eight months after the suspension of his successor, Betta Edu, over corruption allegations.

    ”I am here to find a family that we can work together to address the issues that are facing us as a country.

    “We as a nation must recognise, identify, and come together to address poverty levels and humanitarian crises.

    ”In the university where I served as a director for 12 years, I know how the civil service works, and I will not circumvent civil servants or anybody’s function.

    ”I appeal to you, the permanent secretary and heads of agencies under the ministry, to give us that opportunity to work for the sake of the vulnerable Nigerians,” he said.

    The minister stated that the ministry has a huge image deficit that must be addressed so as to regain the confidence of Nigerians and the international community.

    He emphasised the need for members of staff of the ministry to give him maximum cooperation to redeem the image of the ministry in the eyes of the public.

    ”We must ensure transparency in our dealings, and part of upholding transparency is to ensure that most of our transactions are automated.

    ”And I am ready to work with all of you to achieve this target because that will encourage people to invest and have partnerships with the ministry to support what we are doing,” he said.

    Yilwatda charged heads of agencies to redouble their efforts towards providing the necessary humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable Nigerians amid the government’s current economic reforms.

    According to him, it is the ministry’s duty to give human face to the current reforms the government is undertaking.

    ”Some of the reforms are coming with their consequences, and it is our duty as humanitarian ministry to give human face to every policy of government.

    ”We must ensure that Nigerians do not feel the pressure of such policies because they are necessary reforms,” he explained.

    Mr Abel Enitan, the Permanent Secretary, said the ministry has embarked on a deliberate retrospection in light of the bad image it has attracted in the past.

    Enitan stated that it happened due to some certain avoidable systemic infractions.

    ”But conscious efforts have been made in the last 10 months to enthrone more firmly the culture of transparency and accountability in handling government business.

    ”I am pleased to report to you that this is already gaining traction,” he said.

    The permanent secretary assured the new minister of workers’ determination to support them towards achieving their mandate.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Yilwatda arrived at the ministry’s conference room in company of Minister of State, Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Yusuf Sununu

    (NAN)

  • Reps invite humanitarian minister over N1.1 conditional cash transfer

    Reps invite humanitarian minister over N1.1 conditional cash transfer

    The House of Representatives has mandated its committees on constituency outreach and poverty alleviation to invite the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, to give detailed policy documents adopted in allocation and distribution of funds for the conditional cash transfer.

    This, the House said, is in order to ensure transparency and accountability which are fundamental principles of good governance.

    The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance on the need to invite the Minister to brief the House on the formula adopted to distribute N1.1 trillion conditional cash transfer to 15 million households in the country.

    The House noted that the conditional cash transfer programme is an immediate intervention by the Federal Government to cushion the effect of the removal of petrol subsidy and other economic shocks for vulnerable groups in Nigeria.

    It also noted that the conditional cash transfer is one of the 15 items in the memorandum of understanding between the Federal Government and organized labour on October 2nd 2023.

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    The House said it was aware that 15 Million households will be receiving N25,000 each over a period of three months.

    The House said it was also aware that there has been a lot of unsatisfactory feedback from the way and manner palliative to vulnerable Nigerians have been handled by some, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) which has not in any way reduce hardship in the land.

    The House recalled the ugly scenario witnessed during the COVID-19 palliative distribution a few years ago, where items from international donor meant to cushion the effect of the pandemic were mismanaged.

    The House said it was also aware that the World Bank Country Representative, Shubham Chaudhuri, confirmed that cash transfers are widely applicable to reduce poverty.

    It said it was cognizant that the removal of fuel subsidy necessitated the introduction of various programmes, policies and intervention to alleviate and boost the economics of families and small businesses.

    It was also cognizant that the National Assembly members being closer to the people of Nigeria are meant to represent the interest and concerns of their constituents at the National level.

    It said National Assembly members therefore deserved to be fully briefed and carried along in the implementation process.

    The House worried that there is growing suspicion of the way and manner this programme will be implemented.

    The House worried that the lack of transparent handling of the previous conditional cash transfer programmes has led to corruption and fraud, where funds intended for vulnerable people were misappropriated by individuals.