The Federal Government has so far disbursed N330 billion in cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians under its National Social Safety-Net Programme.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at a meeting of the Special Presidential Panel on Social Investment Programme.
He said the intervention, funded from an $800 million World Bank facility, is designed to cushion the hardship caused by recent economic reforms.
“We are pleased to report that the social protection programme put in place as a safety net to help people cope with the rising price level is now firmly back on track. About 19.7 million poor and vulnerable households, representing more than 70 million individuals, are captured in the National Social Register,” Edun stated.
According to him, 15 million households are targeted for the transfers, with 8.5 million households already receiving at least one tranche of N25,000, while others have been paid two or three tranches. The remaining seven million households, he assured, will be paid before the end of the year.
The minister said the scheme is anchored on a robust and transparent system with beneficiaries verified through their National Identification Numbers (NIN), while all payments are made digitally via bank accounts and mobile wallets.
He added that the programme would henceforth be provisioned in the federal budget for sustainability. “We now have the basis for a modern social protection system that can provide targeted assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable on a long-term basis,” Edun noted.
National Coordinator of NASSCO, Mrs. Funmi Olotu, explained that the staggered payments were due to the president’s insistence on linking all disbursements with NIN to ensure transparency.
“No more traditional cash payments. All transfers are direct debit to bank accounts. That is why some households have received one, two, or three tranches already,” she said.
Olotu added that while the previous administration had planned to pay N5,000 monthly for six months, the new government redesigned the scheme to give N25,000 monthly for three months.
She emphasised that the National Social Register, developed in collaboration with the World Bank, is based on over 40 socioeconomic variables and free from political interference.
