The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has said more than 10 million Nigerians who received the Federal Government’s ₦75,000 conditional cash transfer have no access to phones, television or social media.
Yilwatda disclosed this on Saturday, September 26, 2026, while speaking with journalists after a three-day retreat of the APC National Executive Council (NEC) in Maiduguri, Borno State.
According to him, the beneficiaries are poor and vulnerable Nigerians who received the funds through the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfer programme under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. He said many of the beneficiaries remain outside online conversations because they lack the devices and platforms required to follow or participate in discussions about government policies.
“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 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,” he added.
Yilwatda also defended the Federal Government’s removal of the fuel subsidy, arguing that the policy had provided states with additional resources to pay salaries and pensions and fund development projects. He criticised former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his position on subsidy removal.
The APC chairman warned that reversing the policy could affect ongoing government programmes and infrastructure projects, including student loans, the coastal road and a gas project extending towards northern Nigeria.
“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,” he said.
By Musekir Faisat Omolara
