By Palang Paul
More than 10 million Nigerians who benefited from the Federal Government’s N75,000 conditional cash transfer programme do not have access to mobile phones or social media, the APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, has said.
Yilwatda disclosed this on Saturday while speaking with journalists after a three-day retreat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Council in Maiduguri, Borno State.
He said the beneficiaries, whom he described as poor and vulnerable Nigerians, were largely unable to participate in public discussions about government policies because many lacked access to phones, television and social media.
“We have given 75,000 naira to over 10 million Nigerians across the country using the conditional cash transfer under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction,” Yilwatda said.
He added that the beneficiaries could not easily engage in public debates over government policies because they lacked the communication tools available to other Nigerians.
Yilwatda also defended the Federal Government’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, arguing that the policy had enabled states to pay salaries and pensions.
According to him, more than 30 states previously struggled to pay salaries and pensions, but the situation changed after subsidy removal.
He criticised former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his position on the fuel subsidy and argued that restoring the subsidy could affect government programmes.
Yilwatda said projects including the coastal road and a gas project extending towards northern Nigeria could also be affected if the subsidy was restored.
He further argued that the government’s student loan scheme and other projects could face funding challenges under a renewed subsidy regime.
The APC chairman also said the NEC retreat reviewed the party’s activities across the national, state, local government, ward and polling-unit levels.
He said the party had concluded that it remained prepared for the 2027 general elections and disclosed that the NEC passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and other APC candidates who emerged from the party’s primaries.
The remarks come amid continuing political debate over the impact of the Federal Government’s economic policies, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and measures targeting vulnerable Nigerians.
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