Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu on Saturday in Calabar disclosed that the Federal Government grant for the very poor and vulnerable groups will be flagged off on Christmas day in Calabar under a joint supervision of herself and the Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu.Dr. Betta who graced the 15th coronation anniversary of the Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, spoke at the sideline of the annual Utomo Obong event.The Minister described the Utomo Obong festival as a classy celebration of the rich Efik cultural heritage and congratulated the Obong on his 15th coronation anniversary as well as for the success of the festival.”I’m happy to be here in Calabar to attend the Utomo Obong for 2023.Our king, the Obong of Calabar, is an A-class king, he is father to all his subjects and he brings together all his people, the different clans, and indeed every well-wisher who wishes Cross River State well and who wishes his kingdom well too. “We’re here to share culture. We’re here to share a good time, and we’re here to share Renewed Hope for the people of Cross River State and the kingdom of Calabar.”She reiterated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s determination to stamp out poverty in the country and usher in a refreshing dawn for poor and vulnerable Nigerians.In Her words: “the Federal government of Nigeria in collaboration with Cross River State government on Christmas day will be flagging off the grants for vulnerable groups. We’ve put together names of vulnerable groups in Cross River and we are beginning with those in the Cross River South senatorial district.””The idea is to reach the poorest of the poor in the grassroot especially during this Christmas.”Adding that the little funds put into their pockets will help them start micro businesses that can help sustain their families and pull them out of poverty, so we have a full package for Cross River and we believe that Cross Riverians are ready.”She disclosed that the Ministry has “a criteria which is the poverty index and we have a checklist. We reached out to all the communities in southern part of the state, the wards, the villages and people who matched this criteria were selected out of the many, so this is the first phase. We’ll continue to do this as we move to the next phase but for now we are handling just 5,000 persons.”The flag-off will be at Millennium Park on Christmas day.