The newly sworn-in Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has assured of the federal government renewed commitment to lift 133 Nigerians out of poverty.
Edu, at a meeting with heads of agencies under the ministry in Abuja, said this will be achieved through different interventions and initiatives aimed at reducing poverty.
Assuring Nigerians of her determination to ensure transparency and accountability during her tenure, she said: “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,” Edu said.
“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.”
Maintaining that all hands must be on deck to address the rate of poverty in the country, Edu noted that, “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,” she added.
