The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, has said many beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfer programme are so economically vulnerable that they do not own mobile phones, have access to social media or even have television sets.
Yilwatda made the claim on Saturday while speaking with journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State, following a three-day retreat of the party’s National Executive Council.
The APC chairman was discussing programmes implemented by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he highlighted the conditional cash transfer scheme, which he said had provided ₦75,000 to more than 10 million vulnerable Nigerians.
He said the beneficiaries were largely people living in difficult economic circumstances and therefore could not easily follow political discussions or challenge claims about government programmes on 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.
“Mind you, these people who are poor and vulnerable don’t have telephone to make call, they are not on social media. They don’t have television. They cannot come and challenge and discuss as we are doing here, but they are out there.”
Yilwatda also pointed to infrastructure projects as another area where he said the federal government was investing resources, particularly road construction across the country.
“We are constructing roads and paying people that are working on the road site and construction is going across the country,” he said.
The comments came as the APC leadership reviewed the party’s activities and the performance of the government during its NEC retreat.
According to Yilwatda, the party also expressed condolences to the people of Niger State following the deaths of 37 miners, while reviewing developments at the national, state, local government, ward and polling-unit levels.
He said the party leadership concluded that the APC remained prepared for the 2027 general elections.
“At the retreat, the party also, have a deep dive into the party affairs at the national, state, local government, ward and down to polin units. After we review the performance of the party, we affirm that the party is strong and prepared for the 2027 general election,” he said.
Yilwatda further disclosed that the party’s NEC passed a vote of confidence in President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, as well as other APC candidates who emerged from the party’s primaries for the 2027 elections.
He said the party would also continue reconciliation efforts within its ranks, with state chapters encouraged to establish reconciliation committees where necessary.
According to him, the APC leadership also resolved to strengthen its communication and campaign efforts by highlighting programmes and projects implemented by the Tinubu administration.
Yilwatda’s remarks about cash transfer beneficiaries come amid broader discussions over how government social intervention programmes are communicated to Nigerians, particularly vulnerable people who may have limited access to digital platforms and traditional media.
His statement about the beneficiaries’ access to phones, television and social media was presented as his description of the people reached by the programme; the specific figures and extent of that lack of access were not independently established in the reporting available for this article.
