The Federal Government of Nigeria is finalising plans to credit the bank accounts of qualified beneficiaries for the conditional cash transfer scheme set to mitigate the impact of the recent fuel subsidy removal and the high rate of poverty in the country.
CANDIDREPORTERS.COM gathered that the Federal Government is also taking out dead beneficiaries from the register and would disqualify those without National Identification Numbers and Bank Verification Numbers.
It was further gathered that payments would be made directly to the beneficiaries by the Central Bank of Nigeria and not through consultants, as the first batch of bulk payments would begin next week for five million households.
The Conditional Cash Transfer scheme is part of the National Social Investment Programme of the Federal Government, which is a project created to change the lives of millions of Nigerians living in extreme poverty, upgrade their standards of living and improve the economy.
In commemoration of the 2023 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on Tuesday in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu launched the disbursement of N25,000 to 15 million households for three months as a social safety net intervention.
The aim is to mitigate the impact of the recent fuel subsidy removal and help eradicate poverty across the country.
Providing further details on the initiative in response to inquiries the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Rasheed Olanrewaju, stated that the cash transfer scheme had been reviewed and expanded.
Asked if the Federal Government would use the old register used by the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration to transfer the money, he stated, “We are using a verified expanded register that has pensioners and veterans, as well as other vulnerable persons who were not captured.”
Confirming the position of the minister’s media aide, the National Communications Manager, National Social Investment Programme Agency, Jamaldeen Kabir, stated that beneficiaries who had exited the poverty line were being removed from the register.
Kabir said, “What he (Olanrewaju) told you is very correct, because the register is being expanded. First of all, it has to be verified so that those who are out of the poverty line will be removed from the old register.
“Those in the register, are they still within the poverty line or have they exited the line? The expansion will also include the wives of fallen heroes and pensioners.”
On when the cash transfer would begin, Olanrewaju stated that though bulk payments would commence from next week, some of those who had been verified had already started receiving payment alerts.
“The cash transfer (scheme) has been launched and once a household is verified, they get paid. The batches begin this month, next week to be precise; however, verified people have started receiving alerts,” he stated.
Also commenting on when the cash transfer would begin, Kabir said, “Actually, when the programme was launched at the Presidential Villa three days ago, some beneficiaries were presented with some cheques.
“So, before this month ends, the beneficiaries in the first phase will receive theirs, and this phase caters to five million households. So, we are expecting those five million households to receive money in the months of October, November and December,” Olanrewaju added.
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