The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has disclosed that no fewer than 8.3 million Nigerians are in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
Edu gave the figure in a statement by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Rasheed Zubair, in Abuja.
According to the minister, part of the total 16 million Nigerians are affected by various humanitarian crises, with the three states – Borno, Yobe and Adamawa – worse hit.
She also noted that apart from the North-East, Benue State had been tagged the capital of humanitarian crises in Nigeria by the United Nations.
“We have a huge task on our hands, as we speak now, over 16m Nigerians are affected by humanitarian crises, either man-made or natural disaster, with over 8.3m of them based in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
”Several states in the North Central; and others spread across the country.
“The UN said Benue had become the humanitarian need capital in Nigeria, and as such, a lot of work needs to be done in the humanitarian angle,” she said.
She further added that “One of the agendas of President Bola Tinubu’s administration is to ensure that poverty is alleviated in Nigeria in line with the SDG goal one.”
