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Tag: Nentawe Yilwatda

  • Humanitarian crisis: Fed Govt to link Social Register to NIN

    Humanitarian crisis: Fed Govt to link Social Register to NIN

    • ’30m Nigerians facing food insecurity, and over 3.5m displaced’

    Efforts are on to link the National Social Register (NSR) to  National Identity Numbers (NIN).

     The purpose, according to Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Minister Nentawe Yilwatda, is to ensure that linked data helps the government to anticipate crises, mobilise resources faster, and reach those who need aid.

    Yilwatda added that easily accessible data would save the country and relevant stakeholders the stress and bottlenecks of outdated processes.

     Identifying cash crunch as one of the major challenges facing the ministry in meeting humanitarian crises, he explained that bureaucracy stalls responses to all humanitarian issues.

    The minister spoke at the National Humanitarian Roundtable programme in Abuja yesterday.

    He said: “People are traumatised by climate change, security threats and economic shock across the country and in the midst of these, we have limited funding.

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    “The biggest crisis we have is not just the people being killed, it is a bureaucratic crisis that does not respond to a humanitarian crisis.

    ‘’Every delay in decision-making, every inefficiency in coordination, every shortfall in funding, costs the life of people.

    “They say knowledge is power, but knowledge can be destructive too. It can only be power if we use it effectively. By leveraging data and technology, we can anticipate crises; we can mobilise resources faster and ensure aids reach those who are in need the most. 

    “We are linking the social register to national identity numbers and geo-tagging all homes of those who are vulnerable across the country so that if there’s any crisis, we don’t need to begin to walk around communities and taking names and asking state Emergency Management Agencies and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for data. ‘’From the comfort of our offices and other offices under my office, we can respond immediately.”

    Yilwatda also said there is a need to adopt flexible financing mechanisms for swift response to humanitarian issues because traditional funding models are slow.

    His words: “We must adopt innovative and adaptive humanitarian financing. Traditional funding models are too slow for the urgency of the humanitarian crisis. I’m sure the Minister of Budget will craft a model of funding of humanitarian system in Nigeria that will respond to the gaps that we are having from international donors.

    “We must create flexible financing mechanisms that allow for rapid disbursement and adaptive response, ensuring that aid is not stalled by bureaucratic policies.

      Budget and Economic Planning Minister   Abubakar Bagudu restated that President Bola Tinubu’s   Renewed Hope Agenda is meant to create a macro-economy that would generate resources to  ‘’fund our challenges.’’

    Bagudu said: “We are quite aware that grants and aids can only go so far to support and correct temporary ad-hoc disturbances, but what we are looking for is the evolution of sustainable funding.’’

    He said the government was working with a long-term funding committee to get more resources to address humanitarian needs.

    “Flooding and drought are major drivers of humanitarian issues and they accentuate poverty.

     ‘’If we have long-term capital that can fund irrigation, poverty will reduce in many places, humanitarian intervention will be localised, and the local economy will be made to work for all.”

      United Nations Resident Representative in  Nigeria Mohammed Fall listed floods,   drought, violent conflicts, insurgency and banditry as factors limiting the country’s potential. 

    He added that Nigeria has 30 million people facing food insecurity and over 3.5 million displaced.  

    Fall said: “With an overall 60 per cent reduction in global contribution to aid, we have seen reductions in humanitarian financing, but the recent months have brought even more drastic cuts and it is time for us to think creatively about alternative financing.

    “We must focus on a newly generating fund for humanitarian development and peace initiative, including closer cooperation with the private sector, international financial institutions, and greater reliance on internally generated revenue among other options.”

    Head of the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Trond Jensen, said stakeholders should set new targets and adjust because of the reduction in humanitarian aid in the country.

    He said globally, over $50 billion is required to meet the needs of 190 million people.

  • Cash transfer politics

    Cash transfer politics

    Revelations by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, highlighted challenges faced by the Federal Government in implementing its conditional cash transfer programme. He said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily that certain people were trying to influence the composition of the social register for the scheme. 

     According to him, “Some people want us to bend and allow the governors or the states to just generate the list and send. It’s a conditional transfer; conditions are attached to qualifying to benefit from the social safety net.

    “So, we will not bend to allowing any political affiliation or attachment to this conditional cash transfer.”

    In July 2023, some state governors had questioned the integrity of the national social register and considered it unreliable. They gave the impression that the existing register had no input from the states. However, the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) explained that the national social register “is an aggregation of state registers built by each of the 36 states and the FCT.” 

    Yilwatda’s revelations suggest that some political players still oppose the existing cash transfer register and want states to create their own, despite NASSSCO’s explanation of their involvement in its making. This is curious.

    Furthermore, the minister said the government had validated the identities of only 1.2 million out of 19.8 million Nigerians captured on the country’s social register to qualify for social safety nets. It is unclear why the identities of more than 18 million are unvalidated.

    Read Also: Nigerian women key to Africa’s projected $29tn economy by 2050 – Shettima

    Identity validation is crucial. If the processes are uncorrupted, identifying and validating the identities of the poor for cash distribution should be uncomplicated. The large number of unvalidated identities suggests the existing social register may be corrupted. It remains to be seen how many identities will ultimately be validated.

    Also, the minister said he suspended the cash transfers, explaining that National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) were now compulsory for all digital transfers for audit and transparency purposes. “It is going to be clearly digital,” he stated.

    He noted that the scheme is “a partnership between us and the international community involving also the World Bank and civil society organisations (CSOs),” adding, “This time around, we are carrying the CSOs along so that we will ask them to verify all payments. They can do follow-ups and we can have some levels of transparency in what we are doing.”

    It remains to be seen whether the conditional cash transfer programme can be implemented without any whiff of corruption.

  • ‘We won’t allow politicians to compromise cash transfer register’

    ‘We won’t allow politicians to compromise cash transfer register’

    Attempts by politicians to influence the compilation of the social register of identified indigent beneficiaries for Conditional Cash Transfers are being rebuffed by the Federal Government, it was learnt yesterday.

    Dropping the hint in a chat on a national television monitored by The Nation, Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Minister Nentawe Yilwatda, foreclosed political considerations as criteria for beneficiaries.

    According to Prof. Yilwatda, 19.8 million poor Nigerians have been captured in social register but that only 1.2 million of them have been fully validated to receive assistance.

    The identity data (validation process), the minister noted, is essential to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fairness in the administration of social safety net programmes.

    The minister claimed that some politicians and state governments have been mounting pressure on the federal government to give them the mandate to directly generate the list of beneficiaries.

    He said: “Some people want us to bend and allow the governors or the states to just generate the list and send. It’s a conditional transfer; conditions are attached to qualify, to benefit from the social safety net.

    “Poverty doesn’t know political party, poverty doesn’t know tribe; poverty doesn’t even understand the grammar we are blowing. A poor person is a poor person.”

    Yilwatda stated that the process of compiling and validating the social register is a collaborative effort involving the federal government, international organisations like the World Bank and civil society organisations (CSOs).

    Stressing that the partnership demands the detachment of the programme from political manipulation, the minister said: “Unfortunately, it’s a partnership between us and the international community – the World Bank is involved, CSOs are involved, and it’s not just a ministry activity.

    Read Also: 65,848 women have benefited from Kaduna’s Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme – Sani

    “Despite having 19.8 million entries in the social register, the government has been able to validate only 1.2 million individuals so far.”

    Yilwatda said that the validation process includes authenticating the identities and locations of the beneficiaries.

    “We need to validate the entire register so that we can get the actual people who are supposed to benefit from it, authenticate their locations; their houses, where they are and capture on GPS location – the location of their homes,” he explained.

    The government has set an ambitious target to assist 15 million poor households with a financial package of N75, 000 each.

    The minister restated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to the ministry to reach 70 million Nigerians.

    To achieve the goal, Yilwatda announced the suspension of manual cash transfers, replacing them with a fully digital system that mandates the use of National Identification Numbers (NIN) and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).

    “It is going to be clearly digital. This time around, we are carrying the CSOs along so that after all payments, we will ask them to verify, they can do follow-ups, and we can have some levels of transparency in what we are doing,” he said.

    The minister insisted on the need for transparency in identifying the poorest Nigerians, using social indices such as access to water, healthcare, education and economic opportunities.

    “We are sure they exist and be sure that these people are as poor as they claim because there are social indices for judging poverty,” he stated.

    Since its creation by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has been involved in controversies over the management of social welfare programmes.

    Yilwatda’s appointment by President Bola Tinubu in October 2024, following the suspension and subsequent removal of his predecessor, Betta Edu, has brought renewed scrutiny and expectations for reform.

    Under Yilwatda’s watch, the ministry has introduced measures to ensure auditability and accountability in the distribution of social safety funds.

    By implementing stricter validation processes and embracing digital tools, the government aims to restore confidence in its social welfare programmes and effectively address poverty in Nigeria.

  • Senate screens Bianca Ojukwu, Yilwatda, five other ministerial nominees on Tuesday

    Senate screens Bianca Ojukwu, Yilwatda, five other ministerial nominees on Tuesday

    The Senate will on Tuesday commence the screening of seven nominees for appointment as Ministers. 

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a letter last Thursday urged the Senate to consider and confirm the seven nominees for appointment as ministers.

    Senate President Godswill Akpabio had referred the list of nominees to the Committee of Whole for further legislative work as soon as possible. 

    The seven ministerial nominees for Senate’s consideration and approval include; Dr Nentawe Yilwatda (Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction); Muhammadu Dingyadi (Labour & Employment); Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu (State Foreign Affairs) and Dr Jumoke Oduwole (Industry, Trade and Investment).

    Others are Idi Mukhtar Maiha (Livestock Development); Yusuf Ata (State, Housing and Urban Development) and Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad (State Education).

    Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a former ambassador to Spain, is a prominent member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    If cleared, the former beauty queen and wife of the late Dim Emeka Chukemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, will increase the number of opposition party members in FEC to two.

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    The Special  Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, confirmed that ministerial nominees have commenced documentation ahead of their screening and confirmation by the Senate, which commences on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.

    Lado, in a statement, said that the nominees were already submitting relevant documents as first in the series of procedures for the screening and confirmation of ministerial nominees.

    He said the nominees are expected to be screened and confirmed by the Senate in compliance with Section 147 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended).

  • Humanitarian minister urged to initiate people – friendly policies

    Humanitarian minister urged to initiate people – friendly policies

    The new Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda has be tasked to initiate people-friendly policies to address poverty.

    A Non-Governmental Organisation, Atum Humanitarian and Charitable Initiative gave the charge in a statement by its Executive Chairman, Ismaila Atus.

    The organisation said millions of Nigerians currently grapple with poverty and other health issues that should be addressed.

    The organisation said it would be willing to partner with the ministry to design a poverty- alleviating scheme to assist Nigerians.

    The statement reads: “I congratulate the new minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction. As a politician, we urge him to be liberal. The post he occupies today is meant for poor people.

    “So, we urge him to feed a lot of Nigerians at a critical time that people are suffering. We encourage him to search for fund all over the world to assist the masses.

    “He should not look as if he is the minister and the post is for a big man.

    “This is a poor-people post, and he should work with all the NGOs that are putting effort to assist humanity in this country. We urge him to work with him so that we are going to work with him tirelessly.”

    Recall that the foundation came up with a policy to raise N500 million to assist 2 million indigent Nigerians due to the economic hardship.

    Read Also: Tinubu writes Senate to confirm Bianca Ojukwu, Yilwatda, five others as Ministers

    This is even as it called on well-meaning Nigerians to engage in humanitarian aid, adding that it was unwise for people with the financial means to stash money in foreign accounts when millions of Nigerians wallow in abject poverty.

    Atus, who is also the Executive Chairman of Woskybet, said: “We are going to raise N500 million to assist 2 million Nigerians. The Hunger is too much. Foodstuff is beyond the reach of the ordinary man. I urge those with the wherewithal to help.

    “Aside that, I am calling on the government to reduce the hardship. The government is trying but it is not enough, because millions of Nigerians are suffering.

    “This is the time the people need the government. Politicians should join the bandwagon to assist the masses. They cannot continue to stash their money abroad.”

  • FULL PROFILE: Meet Humanitarian Affairs Minister-Desginate Nentawe Yilwatda

    FULL PROFILE: Meet Humanitarian Affairs Minister-Desginate Nentawe Yilwatda

    President Bola Tinubu has appointed Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda as the new Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and poverty Alleviation. 

    His appointment lays to rest speculations about the return of Betta Edu, the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs. 

    Yilwatda was the All Progressives Congress (APC) Plateau governorship candidate in the 2023 election. 

    He was born on August 8, 1968 in Dungung, Kanke LG to the family of a clergy, Late Rev and Mrs Toma Yilwatda

    Yilwatda’s educational career started with him passing the First School Leaving Certificate at LGED Primary School, Dungung in 1981 and GCE (O/Level) in 1986 from the prestigious Boys’ Secondary School, Gindiri.

    He got his First Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering in 1992 from Federal University Agriculture, Makurdi and his Master of Engineering and PhD from ATBU Bauchi and University of Nigeria, Nsukka respectively where he specialized in Digital systems engineering.

    Yilwatda was part of PAWA 774 project which is a private sector-led imitative to deploy clean, eco-friendly electricity that is connected using micro-grid to communities. He also worked with Tech-Ville USA to train 100 software and renewable energy engineers in Ondo state for international certifications and human capital export. 

    Read Also: FULL LIST: Tinubu appoints Bianca Ojukwu, Yilwatda, six others as new Ministers

    He was appointed in 2017 as a Commissioner with Independent National Electoral Commission and posted to Benue State as the Resident Electoral Commissioner in July 2017. 

    He is a registered Engineer with Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), member Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, member Nigeria Society of Engineers, member Solar Society of Nigeria and has enjoyed many awards and recognitions in the area of ICT and electronic engineering.

    He was the lead consultant for UNICEF A – Field Office between 2005 and 20012 in a turnkey project that covered the design, training of Chain Officers and UNICEF Consultants, and installation of alternative energy sources for cold chain system for Enugu, Cross Rivers, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra states. 

    Yilwatda was a member of the Federal Government Energy Research delegation to USA and Canada on two separate occasions to negotiate technology transfer and acquisition opportunities for Nigeria. He subsequently served in the implementation team of the Cuban Government/ECN programme that promoted energy Efficiency in Residential and Public Sector.

    He is a member of COCIN church. He is married to Dr Mrs Martina Yilwatda.