By Marie-Therese Nanlong

Jos – The Plateau State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC has appealed to Nigerians to be patient with Nentawe Yilwatda, the Minister-designate for the Ministry of
Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and show some understanding as he unveils his plan for piloting the affairs of the Ministry.

Yilwatda had made some statements during his screening on the floor of the Senate, which sparked some reactions, but the Plateau State Chapter of his Party explained his statement was misconstrued.

A statement by the State APC Acting Publicity Secretary, Shittu Bamaiyi noted, “It is rather sad that Dr Nentawe Yilwatda’s position on poverty reduction during his screening on the floor of the Senate has been misconstrued by some people across the Country. Of particular concern is the statement credited to a group called Niger Delta Progressive Women Worldwide, wherein it erroneously accused the Minister-designate of Humanitarian Affairs of bias on his planned strategy of reducing poverty in the country.

“The group alleged that Dr Yilwatda’s answers to questions thrown at him during the screening exercise reflected bias against the southern regions of the Country. For the avoidance of doubt, at no point in time did the Minister-designate say that more attention would be given to one part of the country than the other in poverty reduction. Probably, the group misconstrued the explanation by Dr. Yilwatda when he stated that available data shows that the level of poverty in the North is higher than that of the Southern part of the country.

“That was not his opinion but a source from the National Bureau for Statistics and other relevant agencies. The data from the National Bureau for Statistics states that 65% of the country’s poverty rate is in the North and 35% in the South. Dr Yilwatda posited that there is a need to go beyond the figures and percentages in poverty reduction. He elucidated by saying that names and digital identities should be attached to those figures and percentages to geo-partially recognize those living beyond the poverty line.

“According to him, by so doing, the Ministry will be able to identify people living beyond the poverty line in each local government area, Ward, and census enumeration area by names. Suffice to say that, if the Minister-designate had portrayed or made intended remarks in favour of any part of the country, the Senators could have checkmated him on the spot.”

Bamaiyi added, “A prominent Senator from the Niger Delta region, Ned Nwoko, came on National Television, the Channels, that same Wednesday, and showered praises on Dr Yilwatda for his blueprint on poverty reduction. It is, therefore, not correct and misinformation to say that the Minister-designate has a bias against any section of the country but to unequivocally state that Dr Yilwatda has an uncompromising interest in poverty reduction in the entire Country.

“Therefore, the call to remove Dr Yilwatda from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction by the Niger Delta Progressive Women Worldwide is baseless and should be disregarded.”