Politics
APC Chairman Says Over 10 Million Cash Transfer Beneficiaries Lack Phones, Social Media Access
APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda says more than 10 million cash-transfer beneficiaries lack access to phones, television and social media.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has said more than 10 million Nigerians who benefited from the Federal Government’s ₦75,000 conditional cash-transfer programme do not have access to mobile phones, social media or television.
Yilwatda made the statement on Saturday, September 26, 2026, while speaking with journalists after a three-day retreat of the APC National Executive Council in Maiduguri, Borno State.
According to the APC chairman, the beneficiaries are among the country’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens and therefore 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.
He added that many of those who received the payments do not have telephones to make calls, are not on social media and do not have television sets.
“They cannot come and challenge and discuss as we are doing here, but they are out there,” he said.
Yilwatda said the conditional cash-transfer programme was among several interventions implemented by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He also cited road construction, student loans and humanitarian programmes as examples of government initiatives that, according to him, were addressing economic and social challenges facing Nigerians.
On infrastructure, Yilwatda said ongoing road construction projects were also providing employment opportunities.
“We are constructing roads and paying people that are working on the road site, and construction is going across the country,” he said.
The APC chairman also defended the Federal Government’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had helped create resources for government programmes and enabled states to meet salary and pension obligations.
He questioned the potential impact of reversing the subsidy policy on programmes such as student loans and infrastructure projects.
Yilwatda made the comments as the APC continued preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the party’s NEC retreat focusing on its structures and activities at national, state, local government, ward and polling-unit levels.