Minister Raises Concern Over Inadequate 2024 Budget to Combat Poverty in Nigeria

By Iyojo Ameh

Dr. Beta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, voiced serious concerns on Tuesday about the insufficient allocation in the 2024 budget to effectively address poverty in Nigeria.

Speaking before the Joint National Assembly committee of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, chaired by Senator Idiat Adebule, the Minister highlighted the pressing issue surrounding the ministry’s budget.

Edu emphasized that the allocated overhead ceiling of N532.5 billion, representing a 28% increase over the 2023 budget to counter inflation, did not adequately align with the current inflation rate of 27.

33% in the economy. Furthermore, she pointed out a significant reduction in the capital budget ceiling, plummeting from N3.7 billion in 2022 to a meager N1.328316 billion in 2023, a stark 71% decrease.

The Minister expressed dismay that the marginal increase to N1.535 billion in the capital ceiling for 2024 failed to meet the fundamental mandate of the ministry, considering the drastic reductions in previous years.

Drawing attention to the newly approved Humanitarian and Poverty Eradication Trust Fund by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Edu emphasized the importance of contributions from the federal government, donor agencies, the private sector, and innovative resource mobilization funds. She noted the absence of adequate reflection of this trust in the ministry’s current budget allocation.

Members of the committee also questioned Edu about the absence of the Trust Fund allocation in the ministry’s budget planning stage. The Minister confirmed that while the proposal had been submitted during the budget planning, it was regrettably omitted from the ministry’s budget allocation, leading to her intent to submit a memo to rectify this error.

Edu assured the committee of her ministry’s commitment to full accountability in executing any budget appropriations and urged the committee’s intervention to ensure an adequate budget allocation to effectively address poverty in Nigeria.

The committee pledged to review the presented memo and assured the Minister of their commitment to addressing the budgetary concerns to combat poverty effectively.