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, according to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda.
Yilwatda made the statement on Saturday while speaking with journalists after a three-day retreat of the APC National Executive Council in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The APC chairman said the beneficiaries were mainly poor and vulnerable Nigerians who are often absent from public conversations about government policies because they have limited access to communication and information platforms.
“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 many of those who received the payments do not have phones, television sets or social media accounts, meaning they are unable to participate in the debates that frequently take place online and in other public spaces.
“Mind you, these people who are poor and vulnerable don’t have telephones to make calls; they are not on social media. They don’t have a television. They cannot come and challenge and discuss as we are doing here, but they are out there.”
The APC chairman also defended the Tinubu administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy while responding to criticism from former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over the policy.
Yilwatda pointed to government infrastructure projects and payments to workers involved in road construction as part of the activities he said were being funded after the subsidy removal.
“We are constructing roads and paying people that are working on the road site, and construction is going across the country.”
He argued that before the subsidy was removed, more than 30 states had struggled to meet salary and pension obligations, while he claimed that all states can now meet those payments.
“Over 30 states could not pay salaries and pensions. After we removed subsidies, all states can pay salaries and pensions, and no state is left behind.”
Yilwatda questioned what would happen if the subsidy were brought back and argued that restoring it could put pressure on state finances.
“Today, if you return it, you are saying states shouldn’t pay salaries again. And what suffering are you bringing to Nigeria?”
He further said reversing the policy could affect other government programmes, including the student loan scheme and major infrastructure projects.
According to Yilwatda, projects such as the coastal road and the gas project extending towards the northern part of the country could also be affected.
“The projects we’re doing across the country, like the coastal road and gas project to the north, which have passed Abuja, which are aimed at easing the suffering of Nigerians, will be suspended.”
The APC chairman accused Atiku of seeking to reverse what he described as the gains of the Tinubu administration in pursuit of the presidency, adding that he believed the APC and Nigerians would not accept such a move.
Yilwatda also gave an account of the APC National Executive Council retreat, saying the party reviewed its activities and structures from the national level down to states, local government areas, wards and polling units.
He said the review led the party to conclude that the APC remained strong and prepared for the 2027 general elections.
The party’s NEC also passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima and other APC candidates who emerged from the party’s primaries for the 2027 elections.
Yilwatda said the party also resolved to continue reconciliation efforts in areas where internal disagreements exist, with state chapters encouraged to establish reconciliation committees where necessary.
He added that the party leadership would take a more active role in promoting the Tinubu administration’s programmes and achievements during its engagements ahead of the 2027 elections.
The APC chairman’s comments come amid continued public discussion over the reach and impact of the government’s cash-transfer programme. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, said in August that more than ₦600 billion had been disbursed through cash transfers over three years, reaching slightly more than 10 million households.
