After over 10 months of waiting, President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday announced the replacement of the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, with Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate for Plateau State during the 2023 general elections.
President Tinubu also announced the redeployment of the Minister of State for Education, Hon. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, as the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.
It was recalled that in January 2024, President Tinubu suspended the former minister and ordered an investigation into the transfer of N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant, the accountant in charge of grants for vulnerable Nigerians.
The President also directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct a thorough investigation of all the ministry’s financial transactions. The investigation extended to the entire framework of Nigeria’s social investment programs.
The report of the investigation is yet to be made public.
The newly appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, was born on August 8, 1968, in Dungung, Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Dr. Yilwatda began his educational career by passing the First School Leaving Certificate at LGED Primary School, Dungung, in 1981 and completing his GCE (O/Level) in 1986 from the prestigious Boys’ Secondary School, Gindiri.
He earned his first degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering in 1992 from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and went on to obtain his Master of Engineering and PhD from ATBU Bauchi and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, respectively, specializing in digital systems engineering.
Dr. Nentawe is a registered engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and a member of the Solar Society of Nigeria. He has received many awards and recognitions in ICT and electronic engineering.
He was also trained by the United Nations University’s International Institute for Software Technology in Macau, China, on building electronic governance structures.
A community developer and lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Dr. Nentawe has over 29 years of experience working as a consultant with international development partners and the public and private sectors.
Dr. Yilwatda began his career as an Assistant Lecturer at Plateau State Polytechnic in 1995 and later joined the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, as a Graduate Assistant in 1996. He served in various administrative positions, including Head of Department, Director of Information Technology, and as a member of the University Senate.
In 2017, Dr. Nentawe was appointed Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by former President Muhammadu Buhari and was posted to Benue State as the Resident Electoral Commissioner.
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While at INEC, he championed IDP voting by designing a template to enable Internally Displaced Persons to exercise their voting rights during elections. He also supervised difficult elections, including the recall process of Senator Dino Melaye in 2018 and the Rivers State governorship and House of Assembly polls in 2019.
Dr. Nentawe has served as a project consultant on the first Integrated Financial Management Information System for the Ministry of Finance, CBN, FOS, OAGF, Debt Management Office, OAuGF, National Planning Commission, and Budget Office. He was also part of the team that worked on a World Bank grant to implement a Unified Network and ICT Solution for Nigeria Education and Research Network (NgREN) through the World Bank STEP-B project.
During Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, President Tinubu announced the dismissal of Uju-Ken Ohanenye as Minister of Women Affairs, Lola Ade-John as Minister of Tourism, Tahir Mamman as Minister of Education, Abdullahi Gwarzo as Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, and Jamila Ibrahim as Minister of Youth Development.
President Tinubu subsequently nominated Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, while Nentawe Yilwatda was appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, officially ending the tenure of the suspended Betta Edu.
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The President also nominated Maigari Dingyadi as Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole as Minister of Industry, Idi Maiha as Minister for the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development, Yusuf Ata as Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, and Suwaiba Ahmad as Minister of State for Education.
