$300m transferred to poor Nigerians in four years, says FG

The Federal Government has disbursed about $300m to the poor and vulnerable in its National Social Register through N5,000 cash transfers in four years.

This was disclosed by the National Coordinator, National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office, Mr Apera Iorwa, in an exclusive interview with Sunday Punch.

The agency, which is under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, coordinates the National Social Safety Net Programme.

“For the cash transfer of N5,000 per month, the Federal Government, over the four-year period, has been able to disburse $300m,” he said.

He also disclosed that two million households had benefitted on an average of five individuals per household, which is about 10 million individuals.

“This is consistent. Every month, you collect N5,000, but for logistics, we pay N10,000 every two months,” Iorwa added.

The NASSCO was established in 2016 by the Federal Government, alongside the World Bank, to strengthen social safety nets and social protection system in Nigeria in order to help end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.

The World Bank offered a credit of $500m to support the social safety net programme, which will end by June 2022.

However, Iorwa disclosed that another $800m had been approved by the World Bank to extend the support programme to 2024 in a way that would benefit 8.5 million more Nigerians.

He said, “We have been able to secure an additional $800m facility from the World Bank to answer the most pressing issues of the hike in prices occasioned by the high rate of inflation. The $800m facility will start in February, overlapping with this current programme in June.

“This current programme in June is paying only $2m till June 30. The $800m facility will take over and continue to pay this $2m till 2024. We will pay an additional 8.5 million people through the rapid response register for the urban poor. Since the urban poor is an emergency fund transfer, this 8.5 million people will be paid from six months to only one year, N5,000 monthly.”