The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has said plans are in place to begin the distribution of N25,000 grants to vulnerable pensioners across the country.
Edu announced this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday through her Media Aide to the minister, Rasheed Zubair, when she met with the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress led by president Joe Ajaero in Abuja.
The distribution of the grant which will begin in November will be given to members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners captured in the expanded National Social Register of the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme.
The Minister stressed that the decision to include vulnerable pensioners in the CCT scheme shows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to labour leaders which he will deliver on.
The statement read, “The President mentioned very clearly that vulnerable pensioners should be immediately captured on the National Social Register and benefit from the Conditional Cash Transfer, as part of the national social safety net expansion and this was made clear in his speech on Independence day where he committed N25,000 for 15million households for three months”
She called on the NLC to help fast-track the process of collating data of would-be vulnerable pensioner beneficiaries so that they can start receiving the grant.
Edu ssid, “I want us to fast-track this. If we can get this data and information within two weeks, we are sure that you will be beneficiaries immediately and you can start earning from next month which is November, that’s the main reason why I’m here.”
Edu lauded Ajaero for being a team player, adding that the task of moving Nigeria forward was a collective one and urged him to continue to have faith in the federal government under President Tinubu.
In his response, Ajaero, expressed satisfaction with the various poverty alleviation schemes rolled out by the Ministry and the commitment of the minister.
He, however, noted that getting to the root cause of poverty would go a long way in addressing the problem.
Ajaero said, “Let’s look at not only how to solve this problem, but the cause of it, if we continue to treat the effects of poverty, the problem will persist. Let us look at other social welfare interventions and job creation that will go a long way to support families.”
The NLC President urged the federal government to create more jobs by creating a productive economy where factories are functioning and employing workers.
The president of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Godwin Abumisi hailed President Tinubu and the Minister for finding the retirees worthy of the federal government’s benefit.
He disclosed that some pensioners receive between N5,000 to N10,000 monthly.
Abumisi while describing N25,000 grant as ‘big money to them’, thanked the minister for her exceptional performance.
