FG plans fresh cash transfer scheme for 75 million Nigerians

The Federal Government on Tuesday said it had reinstated the suspended social investment programme, disclosing the scheme would provide direct payments to 75 million Nigerians in 50 million households to reduce the suffering of citizens, especially vulnerable groups. It stated that the cash transfer programme was overhauled to tackle fraud.

The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced this at the ministerial sectoral briefing to mark the first year in office of the President Bola Tinubu administration in Abuja.

On January 12,  Tinubu suspended all the programmes administered by the National Social Investment Programme Agency for six weeks, as part of a probe of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and the scheme.

The president also suspended Betta Edu as the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on January 8. Edu’s ministry supervises the operations of the NSIPA.

The intervention programmes affected include the N-Power, the conditional cash transfer scheme, the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and the home-grown school feeding initiative.

On March 13, the House of Representatives asked the federal government to resume the implementation of the suspended social investment initiatives.

Speaking on economic reforms, the finance minister announced that Nigeria has sufficient resources to pay its debts, both domestically and internationally, without strain.

According to him, this is a significant improvement from the previous situation where the government struggled to pay its way through implementing technological change procedures.

The minister said the revenue of the Federal Republic “has been totally revamped, rejuvenated, and increased substantially” due to the implementation of macroeconomic reforms and the restart of the social investment program.