The World Bank has revealed that only 1.5 million out of the targeted 15 million vulnerable Nigerian households have received the Federal Government’s N25,000 conditional cash transfer. The 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, last week in Abuja.
The conditional cash transfer program, announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is funded with a $400 million loan from the World Bank and is expected to last from October to December 2023. However, the slow pace of distribution raises concerns, with only 0.1 percent of Nigerians having received the intended financial assistance.
“Currently, 1.5 million households have received money, and the program is expected to reach five million households by the end of December,” stated Sienaert during his presentation.
In November, the World Bank confirmed disbursing $299 million of the $400 million loan to the Federal Government for the cash transfer program. President Tinubu had prominently featured the ‘Cash transfer to 15m poor households’ in his Independence Day speech in October.
The responsibility for disbursement falls under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, led by Minister Betta Edu. The ministry has faced challenges in executing the program, citing a low number of poor and vulnerable individuals with National Identity Numbers (NINs) as a hindrance. The NIN criterion is necessary to receive cash transfers from the National Social Register of the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme.
Despite the slow progress, the government aims to expedite the distribution process and reach the targeted five million households by the end of December.
The cash transfer program is crucial in providing financial relief to vulnerable families, and stakeholders are closely monitoring the implementation to ensure its effectiveness in addressing the economic challenges faced by the intended beneficiaries.