By Taiwo Ajayi
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq has pledged to renew the ministry’s partnership with Borno State to lift 133 million Nigerians out of poverty.
The minister made the pledge during a two-day working visit to the state on Friday. She said the ministry has been mandated by President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that no Nigerian slips back into poverty after being lifted out.
“It is important that the humanitarian ministry renews its partnership with the state and leverage the state’s successes and experience to find better ways of doing things,” she said in a statement signed by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Rasheed Zubair.
“The ministry under me will not only aim at eliminating poverty, but it shall also provide safety nets to prevent Nigerians from going under the poverty line.”
The minister said the ministry will achieve its goals by repatriating and reintegrating internally displaced persons (IDPs) into their communities, establishing humanitarian hubs in all local government areas, and creating job opportunities for youth.
“The ministry shall establish humanitarian hubs in all local government areas as a deliberate policy of targeting the grassroots, as well as the rural poor that are more in large numbers in communities and villages,” she said.
“The ministry shall deliberately create job opportunities for youth on a short-term and long-term basis, giving micro-credits, vocational training, among others.”
The minister also said the ministry will work with the state government to improve access to education and healthcare for the poor.
“We will work with the state government to ensure that every child in Borno State has access to quality education,” she said. “We will also work to improve access to healthcare for the poor, especially women and children.”
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