Betta Edu, born on October 27, 1986, is a notable Nigerian politician and the current national women leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC). She previously served as the Cross River State Commissioner for Health before resigning in 2022 and held the position of National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.
Edu’s educational background includes a first degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Calabar, which she earned in 2009. She also completed her secondary education in 2001 at the Federal Government Girls College in Calabar. Edu pursued further studies, obtaining a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health for Developing Countries, a Master’s in Public Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and a Doctor of Public Health from Texila American University.
In 2015, Betta Edu was recognized as the youngest person appointed Special Adviser on Community and Primary Healthcare to the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Benedict Ayade. Her political career flourished as she was appointed chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Taskforce in 2020 and later that year became the National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.
Betta Edu’s contributions to public health have earned her fellowship status in the Royal School of Public Health and the African Institute of Public Health Professionals. Her career saw further advancement when she became the youngest national woman leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2022.
During the 2023 Nigerian general elections campaign, Edu, as APC National women leader, assured women of 35 percent affirmative action from President Bola Tinubu. In July 2023, the state Women Leaders of the APC from all 36 states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), expressed their confidence in Betta Edu during their visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Edu’s dedication to empowering women, children, and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria was recognized when she was awarded the Excellence in Leadership for Gender Inclusion and Women Empowerment by the Maryam Babangida National Center For Women Development, headed by DG Asabe Vilita Bashir, in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
In July 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated Betta Edu for a ministerial position, making her the first female minister from Cross River State and the youngest minister in the Federal Executive Council of Nigeria during the Fourth Nigerian Republic. In August 2023, Edu was officially appointed as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
