FG parleys multinational companies on humanitarian, poverty alleviation trust fund

The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, solicited on Wednesday the support of multinational companies operating in the country for the proposed Presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, in a statement issued by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Rasheed Zubair, confirmed this via a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.

He said: “It was a busy day in the office of the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on Wednesday as the innovations of President Bola Tinubu on the Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund are beginning to gain momentum.

“Multinational organisations and development partners have started showing interest in supporting the trust fund project. Chevron, MTN Foundation, and UNHCR were the latest callers in the minister’s office.”

According to Zubair, “The aim of the trust fund was to knock out poverty and humanitarian crises in the country and will provide a readily available pool of funds from the government, private sector, other countries, and philanthropic individuals to address the national social safety programmes targeted at poverty alleviation as well as humanitarian emergencies devoid of bureaucratic bottlenecks.

“Recall that the Chairman and members of the Federal Executive Council of Nigeria had on Monday approved the creation of the Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund, which is a flexible form of financing,” he noted.

He further observed that the fund was “designed to help Nigeria respond to humanitarian crises, emergencies, and internal displacement challenges as well as adequately address the issue of poverty in the country.

“As part of the efforts to actualize these set goals, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has commenced serious engagements with the private sector and others to achieve their buying in and contributions to the success of the Trust Fund.

“The minister who met Wednesday with the General Manager of Policy, Government, and Public Affairs, Mr. Esimaje Brikinn, and Director of Government Affairs, Mr. Sam Daibo, as a follow-up to his engagement with the President of Chevron Clay Neff in New York on the sidelines of UNGA78

“The multinational organisation has shown commitment (Chevron) to their expected support to Nigeria on humanitarian and poverty alleviation, especially within the Niger Delta region.

“Both parties agreed to work out the details in the subsequent meetings.

“Also, the minister held a strategic meeting with Mr Tobechukwu Okigbo, the Chief Corporate Services Officer, ahead of the meeting with the MTN Foundation on their support for the Presidential Trust Fund, which will be used for humanitarian response and poverty alleviation in the country.

“In the same vein, the Regional Head of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), West and Central Africa, has also pledged their commitment with the support of the Nigerian government to achieve results.”

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