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Vulnerable pensioners to receive N25,000 grants from next month– Betta Edu
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation will from next month start payment of twenty five thousand Naira (25,000) grants to the benefiting members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners captured in the expanded National Social Register of the Conditional Cash Transfer, (CCT) Scheme.
Minister For Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, announced this Wednesday when she met with the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC led by its President Joe Ajaero at the Labour House, Abuja.
The Minister explained that the decision to include vulnerable pensioners in the CCT scheme was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to labour leaders which he will deliver on.
Edu told the NLC that “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 25,000 Naira for 15million household for three months.”
She appealed to the NLC to help fast-track the process of collating Data of would-be vulnerable pensioners beneficiaries so that they can start receiving CCT.
“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”, Dr. Edu said.
She commended Ajaero for being a team player, saying 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.
Responding, Ajaero expressed delight at the various poverty alleviation schemes rolled out by the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry and the passion and commitment the Minister has for the job.
He was however of the view that getting to the root cause of poverty would go a long way in addressing the problem.
“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 boss urged the federal government to create more jobs by creating a productive economy where factories are functioning and employing workers.
He thanked the Minister for being the first member of the federal executive council to visit the labour house in President Tinubu’s Administration, saying “for finding time to visit the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, we will work with you to achieve success in this process and your impact will be felt.
President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Godwin Abumisi, thanked President Tinubu and the Minister for finding the retirees worthy of the federal government benefits.
He said Pensioners received as low as between five and ten thousand Naira a month, saying twenty five thousand is a big money to them. He thanked the Minister for the Exceptional performance so far urging her to keep up the speed.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Sector Command, has confirmed the death of a woman in an accident at Okpoko Market on the Asaba-Onitsha Road.
The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident to journalists in Awka on Thursday, said that the woman was hit while she was crossing the road.
He said that the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, involved a commercial tow truck with registration number XA550BMA.
“Eyewitness report reaching us indicates that the truck was towing a vehicle in an uncontrollable speed along the axis.
“The vehicle that was being towed got detached from the tow truck.
“It hit and killed a female adult, who was said to be crossing the road, while the tow truck continued its movement.
“FRSC rescue team came to the scene and took the woman to Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, where she was confirmed dead and her body deposited at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said.
While sympathising with the family of the dead, the sector commander urged motorists, especially tow truck drivers, to exercise a high level of professionalism.
He also urged the drivers to always use standard equipment and avoid speeding.
The Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.
Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.
“The major benefit of the palliative is that it actually cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.
“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.
He noted that prior to the palliative, a crate of egg was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells between N3,200 and N3,400.
According to the PAN chair, retailers and middlemen who sell from N3,800 to N4,200 do that for their personal gain.
“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.
“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the federal government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector.
“This will consequently lead to drop in the prices of all poultry produce across board,” he said.
He said the palliative was shared among financial members of the association at no extra cost.
“As an association we shared the grains equally across PAN’s eight zones in the state equally. We also mandated each zone not the sell even a grain of the maize.
“We, however, considered new poultry farmers who wanted to the join the association as beneficiaries of the palliative,” said Iyiola.
He noted that through the palliative, more poultry farmers were recruited into the association.
“The maize was shared only to poultry farmers and not feed millers, it is the major component of poultry feed formulation,” he said.
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