During the budget defense session on Tuesday, Beta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, raised alarms over the insufficient allocation to her ministry in the proposed 2024 budget, stating that it is inadequate to effectively combat poverty in the country.
Edu, along with officials from her ministry and its affiliated agencies, appeared before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, chaired by Senator Idiat Adebule.
During the session, Edu highlighted that her ministry was assigned an overhead ceiling of N532.5 billion, representing a 28% increase from the 2023 budget to counteract the effects of inflation.
However, the minister emphasized that the 28% increase in the overhead ceiling does not align with the current inflation rate of 27.33% in the economy.
Edu pointed out that the capital budget ceiling had experienced a significant 71% reduction, from N3.7 billion in 2022 to N1.328316 billion in 2023.
She expressed concern that the minimal increase in the capital budget for 2024, set at N1.535 billion, does not match the mandate of the ministry to alleviate poverty in Nigeria.
Edu pleaded with the committee, chaired by Senator Adebule, stating, “Except the budget is appropriate for it, we would be completely unable to meet that mandate.”
She urged the committee members to carefully reconsider the budget allocation to ensure it aligns with the ministry’s mission and the economic realities on the ground.
The minister also drew attention to the omission of a crucial element from the budget – the Humanitarian and Poverty Eradication Trust Fund. Edu revealed that the fund, recently approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, requires a 30% counterpart funding from the federal government, 30% from the private sector, and 10% from other innovative resource mobilization funds. She expressed disappointment that this critical aspect was not reflected in the budget received by her ministry.
Senator Adebule inquired whether Edu had presented the budget for the Trust Fund during the planning stage. Edu responded affirmatively, stating that it was presented to the Ministry of Budget, but unfortunately, it was not incorporated into the budget returned to her ministry.
Edu assured the committee of her ministry’s commitment to full implementation of any funds appropriated, especially those aimed at eradicating poverty in the country.
She emphasized the need for the committee’s support in ensuring the inclusion of the necessary budget lines for effective poverty alleviation programs.
