The World Bank has revealed that only 1.5 million out of the 15 million vulnerable households targeted in Nigeria have received the Federal Government’s N25,000 conditional cash transfer. This disclosure was made by the World Bank’s Lead Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, during the presentation of the Nigeria Development Update, December 2023 edition, in Abuja.
According to the latest data, a mere 0.1% of Nigerians have benefited from the N25,000 cash transfer since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the program. The initiative, financed through a $400 million loan from the World Bank, was expected to provide support from October to December 2023.
Sienaert stated, “Currently, 1.5 million households have received money, and the program aims to reach five million households by the end of December.”
In November, the World Bank confirmed that it had disbursed $299 million of the $400 million loan to the Federal Government for the cash transfer program. However, despite the disbursement, the Federal Government is yet to commence the payment of the N75,000 palliatives after receiving the loan from the World Bank.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had prominently mentioned the ‘Cash transfer to 15 million poor households’ in his Independence Day speech in October. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, stated that President Tinubu approved the commencement of the payment in October. However, the disbursement has been hindered by a low number of poor and vulnerable people with National Identity Numbers, a requirement to receive the cash transfer from the National Social Register of the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme.
