Laraba MUREY
The newly-appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, Social Development and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has disclosed plans to create 10 million jobs within the space of four years.
Edu spoke in Abuja during a brief reception in her honour at the ministry, after the swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
The minister said her ministry will adopt an approach taken by development partners who offer humanitarian services through short-term contracts to execute the job-creation plan.
According to her, the aim is to harness the power of on-demand services, fostering a dynamic job market that can potentially uplift millions from unemployment.
She stressed the significance of media support, and the need to use multiple channels, including TV, radio, and newspapers, to reach those who stand to benefit from the program.
“So before bringing out the program, for intervention. The people we’re going to meet, need to know, not just on TV, but radio, newspapers, they need to know.
“Of course, one very beautiful innovation I think I would just let out today is that we’ll be creating a minimum of 10 million jobs from this Ministry. Before we finish the first tenure of His Excellency, the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we have a huge task to deliver.
“We have all Development Partners coming and they help people offer humanitarian services on short term contracts and the rest of it,” she said.
Edu also noted that President Bola Tinubu is poised to roll out transformative and impactful poverty alleviation programs.
The minister pleaded for collaboration, dedication, and a sense of urgency underscoring the gravity of the task at hand.
“Different data sources have said we have over 71 million extremely poor persons living in Nigeria. There’s a reason why the ministry was renamed to refocus us back. “We need to bring smiles back to the faces of Nigerians. And I’m not seeing data, I’m not seeing numbers, I’m referring to people.
“We’re going to be very transparent and we are going to be very accountable to Nigerians.
“We’re going to speak out and tell them what it is that we are doing. It’s no secret business. If we are spending one naira, one naira it is. If we are spending 10 billion, 10 billion it is and they must be able to feel the results of that expenditure.
“I want to plead with you, I’m a team player but I push really hard. Already, Nigerians are waiting. I want to beg us all to drop and layer aside any baggage that will not allow us to do the job the way we should do it.
“I want to plead with us to fasten your seatbelts because we’ll be flying at the speed of light. I don’t know if it’s good for you, but it’s good for the President and it’s good for Nigerians that a younger person that’s here. And the reason is simple, we need energy, we need innovation, we need speed to reach 136 million people as a matter of urgency.
“Our President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be bringing on board very new people-centered grassroot-based life changing programmes; some of the most successful programmes in the history of poverty alleviation anywhere in the world.
“We’ll give ourselves timelines and we must walk to meet it. And I plead with you when you do the service, it’s not service to man, it’s service to God,” she said.