Betta Edu to n’assembly: Humanitarian ministry’s budget not enough to fight poverty

Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, says the proposed budget for her ministry for the 2024 fiscal year is not enough to fight poverty.

Edu spoke on Tuesday while defending her ministry’s budget proposal before the national assembly joint committee on humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation.

The minister said the 28 percent increase in the overhead cost of the budget in 2024 which brings it to N532.5 billion is not enough to cushion the effects of the rising inflation in the country.

She said N1.32 billion was allocated to the ministry as capital budget in 2023, noting that the figure was slightly increased in the 2024 budget to N1.5 billion.

“The capital ceiling of N1.535 billion which is an increase from the current year’s budget does not in any way match with the mandate of the ministry’s headquarters to shrink poverty in Nigeria,” the minister said.

“Simply put, there was an over 71 percent reduction between 2022 and 2023. So the minimal increase between 2023 and 2024 does not in any way match the mandate which we have been given and what is expected of us.

“At this point, I will plead humbly and sincerely with the chairman, co-chair and members of this great committee as we look into Nigeria as a nation.”

She said a key project was omitted in the 2024 budget proposal of the ministry.

“If you follow the news closely, the president who is the chairman of the federal executive council recently approved the creation of the humanitarian and poverty eradication trust fund,” the minister said.

“This trust is expected to have a contribution from the federal government of 30 percent counterpart funding which is supposed to come from donor agencies as well as development partners.

“We also have 30 percent coming from the private sector and then, 10 percent from other very innovative funds of resource mobilisation which we have already started engagement.

“Similarly, 10 percent is expected from other very innovative funds of resource mobilisation for which we have already started engagements in the over 111 days in office.

“We have been engaging massively for these funds to come into Nigeria to support the implementation of programmes which we will be implementing with you at the front burner by reaching out to your constituents.

“However, Nigeria needs to put its own part of the bargain on the table.”

Edu added that the national assembly should hold her accountable for “full implementation of whatever is appropriated to our ministry”.