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The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has announced that the Federal Government is set to introduce its conditional cash transfer policy to benefit 15 million households on October 17th, 2023.
She made this announcement during her appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, several months following the cessation of petroleum subsidies by the Federal Government.
Edu stated, “Pending final approval from the President, which we anticipate receiving this week, we will officially inaugurate the conditional cash transfer program on October 17th. This initiative aims to provide assistance to 15 million households across Nigeria.”
The minister also highlighted the ministry’s ongoing efforts in collaboration with various stakeholders nationwide to establish a credible registry of eligible beneficiaries.
“As we currently engage in a verification exercise, we have deployed personnel in every state to bear witness to our commitment. These individuals are collaborating with the State Cash Transfer Office, alongside the governors who lead the steering committee, and various other stakeholders,” she stated.
“All these efforts are aimed at ensuring that those included in the national social register are genuinely Nigerian citizens whose income falls within the under $1.95 a day threshold, and are deserving of the support,” the minister emphasized.
Acknowledging that some individuals on the register may have passed away or improved their economic status, Mrs. Betta explained that the verification exercise serves the purpose of refining the register.
“So, there are two key aspects to this. Firstly, at this very moment, we are actively in the field, meticulously reviewing and verifying the data. We are cross-referencing information such as BVN, NIM, and other identifiers to authenticate the identities of these individuals,” the 36-year-old official remarked.
“In addition, we are incorporating biometric data, including a capture of the head of the household and an image of the household, ensuring that each household is uniquely numbered for verification purposes,” she added. “This numbering system allows people to visit the households and verify their details against the register.”
