Like Buhari, Tinubu promises to take 133 million Nigerians out of poverty

The new Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has expressed the Federal Government’s commitment to lift 133 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Edu disclosed this when she assumed office on Monday in Abuja and held maiden meeting with the Chief Executive Officers of the agencies under the Ministry.

She assured Nigerians of her determination to ensure transparency and accountability during her tenure as Minister.

Betta Edu is one of the 45 new ministers appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

She explained that the ministry will achieve the target through different interventions and initiatives aimed at lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

“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, we are here to face the real business of governance” she said.

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

” 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, be very sincere, transparent and accountable” she said.

NewsWireNGR reports that the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari promised to lift at least 100 million Nigerians out of extreme poverty, a promise which many Nigerians believed was never fulfilled.

Nigeria’s total population is about 200 million. If the total number of people projected to be lifted out of poverty by the two federal government administrations is considered, they would have lifted 233 million Nigerians out of poverty, more than the estimated total population.