The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a plan to distribute N75,000 cash transfers to approximately 70 million of the nation’s “poorest of the poor” by the end of 2025.
The initiative, disclosed by Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, aims to address extreme poverty and create a more inclusive social safety net amidst the economic challenges facing the country.
The program aims to distribute N75,000 per person to households identified as the most vulnerable. According to Prof. Yilwatda, the Ministry plans to deploy the initiative across all 36 states by January 2025, registering up to 18.1 million households through the National Identity Number (NIN) system.
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President Tinubu’s directive targets 15 million households, translating to about 70 million individuals nationwide. Each household, averaging 4 to 5 members, is expected to benefit from the cash transfers this year.
“We want to deploy by the end of January across all states to start harvesting the NIN numbers of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households. This will allow us to make payments to them,” Prof. Yilwatda explained.
The cash transfer program is part of President Bola Tinubu’s strategy to mitigate the severe economic impact of his administration’s reform policies. These reforms, notably the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the naira exchange rate, were intended to stabilize the economy but have dramatically increased the cost of living, leaving many Nigerians unable to afford basic necessities.
While the program is seen as a critical response to widespread hardship, it is believed that it has failed to deliver meaningful relief. Many believe the allocated funds are insufficient or do not reach those most in need due to systemic corruption and mismanagement.
To ensure effective implementation, the program is closely tied to increasing digital identities among low-income Nigerians. The Ministry is collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to enhance NIN registration efforts, streamlining the process to ensure inclusion and minimize errors.
“We are deploying resources, conducting training, and working with NIMC to capture data accurately. Currently, only 1.4 million of the poorest individuals are registered with NIN. With the World Bank’s support, we are scaling up these efforts significantly,” the Minister added.
Training programs have already begun in states such as Rivers, Kwara, Abuja, and Nasarawa, with a nationwide rollout planned for early 2025.
Persistent Corruption Concern
The cash transfer program has faced significant criticism. Many Nigerians argue that it has done little to alleviate the worsening economic conditions. Many allege that systemic corruption and poor oversight have allowed funds to be diverted away from their intended recipients, leaving the most vulnerable populations without meaningful support.
Moreover, economists and social commentators have raised concerns about the program’s effectiveness in addressing the root causes of poverty. They argue that cash transfers provide only temporary relief and do not address structural issues like unemployment, inflation, and high transportation costs that continue to exacerbate the cost of living crisis.
Backdrop of Controversies
The announcement of the program comes on the heels of a series of controversies surrounding Nigeria’s social welfare initiatives. Earlier in 2024, President Tinubu suspended all programs managed by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, citing allegations of misappropriation, particularly within the direct cash transfer initiative.
Additionally, Betta Edu, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, was suspended last year over allegations of funds mismanagement within NSIPA.
These developments have cast doubt on the government’s ability to manage large-scale poverty alleviation programs effectively. It is believed that without robust oversight and accountability mechanisms, the new cash transfer initiative may suffer the same fate.
However, many believe the fund allocated to the humanitarian program should have been used to subsidize the cost of petrol, which is a major contributor to economic hardship.
“This ‘palliative’ amounts to N5.25 Trillion,” Dipo, a concerned Nigerian wrote. “In 2022, when petrol subsidy was fully in place, we paid a total of N3.36 Trillion on subsidy.”