Nentawe Yilwatda, the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction, has said federal government is using artificial intelligence (Al) to identify poor Nigerians residing in urban slums.
Gatekeepers News reports that while speaking on Arise TV Prime Time programme on Friday, Yilwatda revealed that Al has been instrumental to expanding the national social register from 13 million to 19.7 million individuals.
He said, “To help someone, you must first know them. You can’t support people you can’t identify. That’s why we started by validating the social register.”
“The president ordered that we include the urban poor as well. We used satellite imagery to locate urban slums, then base stations and telecoms data to identify phone numbers in those locations.”
“Al helped us generate a list of urban poor individuals by verifying those numbers, their access to financial services, and other indicators.”
“So now, the updated social register covers both rural and urban communities, making it more inclusive and reliable.”
The minister noted that the federal government is targeting 15 million households, about 75 million individuals, with its anti-poverty programmes.
He said, “Nigeria has around 43 million households. We’re targeting 15 million with these interventions. Multiply that by an average household size of five, and we’re reaching about 75 million people.”
Yilwatda added that government is offering conditional cash transfers to food-poor households as part of its multidimensional poverty reduction efforts.
He said, “We need to differentiate between food poverty and multidimensional poverty. Multidimensional poverty includes a lack of access to education, clean water, healthcare, and financial services. Food poverty, which focuses solely on access to sufficient food, affects roughly 42% of the population.”
“If you take 42% of 200 million, that’s about 80 million people. Divide that by an average household size of five, and you have roughly 20 million households affected.”
“The federal government is targeting 15 million of them. That means over 75% of the food-poor population is being covered through conditional cash transfers.”
The minister said each household receives N75,000, which may seem small in urban areas but has a significant impact in rural communities.
He added, “I know 75,000 might seem insignificant to someone living in the city. But in rural areas, it makes a difference.”
“We conducted a joint research project with the World Bank and some civil society organisations. It showed that up to 18% of recipients were able to start nano or small-scale businesses with that money.”
“About 82% used the funds to improve food security. And 52% were able to pay school fees for their children.”
“So, while this is not their sole source of income, it is a meaningful supplement that helps cushion the impact of poverty.”
Yilwatda further noted that the federal government has also introduced a range of structural measures to tackle poverty and food insecurity.
He said, “The cost of food this year has stabilised, and food inflation has reduced. The government has introduced several measures to address this.”
“For example, student scholarships have been offered to ensure that those who have fallen
below the poverty line can still access education.”
“The government has also made N1.5 trillion available through the aggregate bank for farmers. This will allow them to access loan schemes, boost agricultural production, and enhance food security.”
The minister emphasised that the administration’s current strategy marks a shift from short-term humanitarian aid to long-term poverty eradication.
He said, “Poverty alleviation reduces the pain; poverty reduction moves people out of poverty entirely.”
“Until now, the focus was mainly on humanitarian interventions – relief materials, food distribution, and cash transfers. But that’s not enough. We’re shifting towards actually reducing poverty.”
