Economic hardship: FG set to restart direct cash transfers to 15m households

The Federal Government has concluded plans to restart direct cash transfers to the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians.

This follows the hardship that millions of Nigerians are currently going through as a result of rising food prices and the naira’s depreciation.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, made this known during a retreat of the ministry on Wednesday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

Persecondnews reports that with about three million Nigerians benefiting from these programmes, the federal government projects that an additional 12 million people, households, can benefit from these direct payments, bringing the total to about 15 million households.

According to Edun, the presidential panel on social investment programmes is set to meet with President Bola Tinubu and recommend the restart of direct cash payments to the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians.

He said:“The presidential panel on the social investment programmes has prepared to go to Mr. President with an internal recommendation to restart the direct payments to the poorest and the most vulnerable. Everything is being done to ease the pain.

“We know that there have been about 3 million beneficiaries now, but given the way the rates have gone, there are probably another 12 million households that can benefit from that payment.”

The minister noted that the expansion of the direct cash transfer aims to reach a wider population struggling with the economic situation and to put more money directly in the hands of those who need it most, allowing them to prioritize their needs and alleviate poverty.

He revealed that technology will be used to ensure smooth and transparent payments, avoiding manual processes and delays.

“The only thing delaying is not waiting for the end of the report. It is something that the intervention is meant to happen immediately.

“We have experts in technology, the commitment was to make sure that we use technology to ensure that we have a seamless payment and a seamless movement between the registered and the direct beneficiaries, without any manual processes in between.

“So it’s taking time to automate that process immediately that direct payment will resume,” he added.