FG Gives Date On Cash Transfer To 15m Nigerian Households

The Federal Government has provided fresh details on its conditional cash transfer meant to reach 15million households.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, said the cash transfer is billed for launch on October 17, 2023.

The minister who spoke to Channels Television said:  “With the approval from the President which we hope to get this week, on the 17th of October, we will be officially launching the conditional cash transfer to 15m households in Nigeria.”

 “As we speak, we are having a verification exercise. Every state can bear us witness that we have put boots on the ground – persons who are working with the state cash transfer office as well as the governors who are the heads of the steering committee and then several other persons.

READ ALSO: Use Subsidy Money To Improve Citizens’ Welfare, Ajadi urges FG

“All of this is to be sure those who are on the national social register truly are Nigerians who fall [spend] within the under $1.95 a day [range] and they deserve to have it.”

According to Edu, some persons on the register may have died or moved up the economic ladder, so the verification exercise is expected to clean up the register.

 “So, two things. First, as we speak, we are on the field cleaning up that data and doing a complete verification and we are juxtaposing both the BVN, NIM and the rest of it to identify these people and be sure we are dealing with authentic persons.

“And then, of course, there is biometrics to it and you have a capturing of the head of the household as well as a picture of the household so it can be located.

“On each of these households, they are numbered so people can go there and verify against the register,” she said.

READ ALSO: Sports Betting: Lottery Commission Lists Authentic Winning Outlets

The Eagle reports that Nigerians have had a difficult run in the recent on account of the challenging economy now characterized by high prices of goods and services.

The conditional cash transfer initiative is expected to provide a cushion to the purchasing power of vulnerable Nigerians particularly, in the light of the prevailing circumstances