The federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to restart the provision of conditional direct N75,000 cash transfers to 75 million Nigerians to tackle the impact of inflation.
The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced this at the ministerial sectoral briefing to mark the first year in office of the President Bola Tinubu administration in Abuja.
On January 12, Tinubu suspended all the programmes administered by the National Social Investment Programme Agency for six weeks, as part of a probe of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and the scheme.
The president also suspended Betta Edu as the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on January 8. Edu’s ministry supervises the operations of the NSIPA.
Also, Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, is being investigated by the EFCC. The ex-minister is being probed over an alleged laundering of N37.1 billion during her tenure as a minister.
The intervention programmes affected include the N-Power, the conditional cash transfer scheme, the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and the home-grown school feeding initiative.
On March 13, the House of Representatives asked the federal government to resume the implementation of the suspended social investment initiatives.
To revamp the programme, Tinubu approved the establishment of a Special Presidential Panel, led by Edun to carry out an intensive review and audit of the existing financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the social investment programmes.
Giving an update on the steps taken by the committee at the briefing, the finance minister stated that the government had decided to restart the programme to provide succour for poor Nigerians.
Edun who is the chairman of the Presidential Panel of Social Investment programme explained that the cash transfer will improve the living standard of Nigerians in the immediate term.
According to him, the Government has developed a system to ensure that payments get directly to beneficiaries through digital routes.
Edun announced that the government has recruited Mobile Network operators to fasten the roll-out of the scheme.
He stated beneficiaries must have a National Identity Number, account number or mobile wallets to receive the cash transfer payments.
“As the Chairman of the Presidential Panel of Social Investment program, the all-important direct payment to the poor.
“Which is the veritable tool and sharpest tool we can have for attacking increased living standards. That program has been restarted.
“It involves 75 million Nigerians and 15 households with the payment of N75,000 in the immediate term.
“To ensure public trust is there we have a system that has developed between the Ministers of Communications and Digital Economy, Health, and Youths with a global best standard in providing direct payment.
“On the one hand, each person must have a National Identity Number, secondly, the payment must be through digital routes. Whether BVN, that is bank account Accounts or mobile wallets.
“Mobile Network operators have been recruited to ensure we have a faster rollout of the program. That is one of the key ways initially that the poor and vulnerable will be helped”, he said.
