Keep an eye on poverty alleviation funds, APC chieftain tells Tinubu

Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to keep an eye on how the funds allocated to different poverty alleviation programmes are being spent.

Speaking with journalists on Sunday, Oyintiloye said the president’s interest in alleviating poverty among the masses must not be allowed to be truncated by selfish individuals.

The APC chieftain said all necessary strategies must be put in place to ensure that the poverty intervention programmes by the president have positive impacts on the lives of poor Nigerians.

“We have a president that is monitoring everything being done in his government and that is why we have absolute trust in him,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“We must encourage and support the president to keep an eagle eye on these intervention programmes to prevent fund diversion.

“Since the money is meant to alleviate poverty among the masses, every necessary strategy must be in place to ensure that allocated money have positive impacts on the lives of the less privileged Nigerians.”

Oyintiloye commended the president for allocating N10.35 billion to the ministry of humanitarian affairs to fight poverty.

He hailed the president on the poverty alleviation programmes and said the allocated amount would go a long way in making positive impacts.

The APC chieftain said the money, which was to be spent under the National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (NPRGS), would stabilise and improve the livelihood of the vulnerable masses.

“There is no doubt that the economy is not friendly and there is poverty in the land,” Oyintiloye said.

“The president acknowledged the pains the people are passing through and that is why he and his team are working round the clock to make life more bearable for Nigerians.

“The assurance given by the president in his new message that the economic hardships occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy will soon be over is an indication that government is not sleeping.”

For the past few days, Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, has been under fire after a memo surfaced wherein she asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer the sum of N585 million to a private account.

Tinubu also suspended Halima Shehu as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) over alleged financial malfeasance.