The Federal Executive Council (FEC) led by President Bola Tinubu on Monday approved the establishment of a humanitarian and poverty alleviation trust fund to help cushion the economic hardship on vulnerable Nigerians.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, who briefed State House correspondents at the end of the weekly FEC meeting.
Edu said the fund is expected to garner up to $5 million annually and will be managed by a governing board that will include the Minister of Finance and other relevant ministers.
“This is a flexible form of financing that is supposed to help Nigeria adequately respond to humanitarian crises and challenges as well as adequately address the issue of poverty in Nigeria,” she said.
“This, of course, is a victory for the poor and, indeed, would bring help and succour, which the Renewed Hope Agenda stands for.”
Edu also announced that the FEC had ratified the protocol on the protection of the rights of older persons in Nigeria.
“We have signed up to the African charter, and this has made us one of the countries within Africa that has approved that older people be protected and should not be discriminated against at any level,” she said.
“And this gives them a lot of protection, and the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is interested in their welfare and protecting their rights.”
30 percent of the funding is expected to come from the federal government, while 70 percent is expected from donor agencies.
