We’re Struggling With Insufficient Funds In 2025 Budget” – Minister Yilwatda Raises Alarm

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has urged the National Assembly to increase the 2025 budget allocation for his ministry to address critical humanitarian and poverty reduction needs.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Speaking on Friday during the review of the 2024 budget and the 2025 budget defense with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Humanitarian Affairs, Yilwatda highlighted the ministry’s ambitious targets, including creating 2 million jobs in 2025 and training 50,000 unemployed graduates and non-graduates through the Skill2Wealth Initiative.

The Minister disclosed that starter packs had been procured to enable over 110,000 beneficiaries to launch self-reliant ventures, describing the packs as essential tools for fostering entrepreneurship and economic development.

Professor Yilwatda noted that humanitarian needs had surged due to climate-related disasters, conflicts, and crises such as flooding, fires, and insurgency, which have displaced millions. He also expressed concern over the decline in global humanitarian aid, as donors increasingly focus on regions like the Middle East, Sudan, and Ukraine.

He appealed to the National Assembly, stating that the current ₦4.6 billion capital budget ceiling would be insufficient to tackle rising humanitarian challenges, combat poverty, and address acute malnutrition. Yilwatda emphasized that achieving the Ministry’s goals—including halving the number of Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty within four years—would require additional budgetary provisions and intervention funds.

“I appeal to you to provide the necessary support for these programs. Together, we can make a lasting impact on millions of lives and secure a brighter future for our country in line with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.

Yilwatda also highlighted the need to increase the ₦8.8 billion capital budget allocated to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), stating it lacked overheads and was insufficient to meet its presidential mandate.

In response, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Humanitarian Affairs, Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule, and her colleagues assured the Minister that the proposed budgets for the Ministry and NSIPA would be carefully reviewed. Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Humanitarian Affairs, Abdulkadir Tijani Yobe, commended Yilwatda and the Minister of State for their proactive approach.