Tinubu’s Administration Announces New Cash Transfer Scheme for 75 Million Nigerians

The Federal Government announced on Tuesday that it has reinstated the previously suspended social investment program, which will provide direct payments to 75 million Nigerians in 50 million households to alleviate the suffering of vulnerable groups.

The overhaul of the cash transfer program is aimed at addressing issues of fraud. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, made this announcement during the ministerial sectoral briefing marking President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office in Abuja.

On January 12, President Tinubu suspended all programs managed by the National Social Investment Programme Agency for six weeks to investigate alleged malfeasance within the agency. Additionally, on January 8, Tinubu suspended Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, whose ministry oversees the NSIPA. This suspension affected several intervention programs, including N-Power, the conditional cash transfer scheme, the government enterprise and empowerment program, and the home-grown school feeding initiative.

On March 13, the House of Representatives urged the federal government to resume the suspended social investment initiatives. In response, President Tinubu approved the formation of a Special Presidential Panel, led by Edun, to conduct an intensive review and audit of the financial frameworks and policy guidelines of these programmes.

Providing an update on the committee’s progress, Edun stated that the government decided to restart the program to provide relief to impoverished Nigerians.

“I am duty-bound to give you an overview of the strategy, policies, and implementation of Mr President’s reform program,” Edun said. “Immediately upon assuming office, Mr President launched macroeconomic reforms to restore stability to the Nigerian economy, including subsidy reforms and foreign exchange market reforms. These reforms caused a spike in costs for individuals and businesses, but Mr President is committed to counterbalancing the negative effects with interventions across the social spectrum.

“The government has restarted the social investment program, providing direct payments to 75 million Nigerians in 50 million households. Access to credit has been improved, with N1bn allocated to consumer credit and grants of 50,000 Naira being given to 1 million nano industries.”

Regarding food inflation, the National Bureau of Statistics reported in its April CPI that Nigeria’s 33.69 percent inflation rate was largely driven by food inflation, which stood at 40.53 percent in April 2024. Nigerians have expressed concern over the rising prices of goods and services, partly due to the removal of petrol subsidies.

Edun highlighted agriculture’s critical role in addressing food security and global food insecurity issues. He noted that 30 percent of the world’s population is affected by food security issues and that Nigeria is no exception.

“Agriculture is critical, and success in this area is crucial,” Edun stated. “Efforts are being redoubled, with N200bn provided by the Ministry of Finance towards an intervention program. Today, we met with the social investment prudential panel and development partners to discuss the President’s emergency plan for food security. We talked about advancing this issue and providing food, nutrition, and security, and this area will receive more attention in the coming weeks. The economy is growing at 2.98 percent in the first quarter of this year, higher than the population growth rate and last year’s growth rate. Agriculture has the potential to help move the economy forward and reduce inflation.”

Edun also mentioned that the federal government has started making direct payments to contractors, suppliers, and vendors engaged by the government to curb corruption in business dealings, ensuring the prudent and accountable expenditure of national wealth.

Additionally, the government plans to roll out an Economic Emergency Plan to be implemented over the next six months to stabilize the economy and set the country on a path to growth.

“A system of payment has been implemented to ensure that Nigeria’s money is spent wisely and accountably,” Edun explained. “The government has played a role in helping states attract cheap funding and process projects at the community level. Nigeria’s international credit rating has improved, with Moody’s and Fitch increasing and improving Nigeria’s ratings to positive.”