The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that it will commence a new cash transfer program to fifteen million households by October.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, revealed this during an appearance on Arise TV on Monday.
According to Edu, the program aimed to upscale the National Safety Net Program, which will provide tangible funds to improve the lives of Nigerians and support entrepreneurship.
The Federal Government will collaborate with state governments and local communities to verify the National Social Register and expand its coverage.
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Currently, the National Social Register includes 15.7 million households, equivalent to approximately 62 million individuals.
The Minister stated that the verification process will ensure that the program reaches those who are eligible.
She said:
“We had meetings with the World Bank and very soon we will announce the upscale of the National Safety Net Program which will be putting funds in the pocket of over 15 million households in Nigeria.
“These are tangible funds that people can use to start businesses and improve their lives. This will be happening next month October.
“I’m sure you know very well that we have sent out a team and are in engagement with the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) just to verify the National Social Register working with the states and local communities and we are going to expand it.
“Right now, we have 15.7 million households which amounts to about 62 million persons under the National Social Register. We want to verify if they are still in that social bracket to know if they still deserve such interventions.
“The President has approved the verification and expansion of the National Social Register to cover everybody in that bracket.”
