The Nigerian Government plans to reach 15 million households—equivalent to 75 million individuals—through its conditional cash transfer initiative, according to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Nentawe Yilwatda.
Speaking on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Yilwatda revealed that each household will receive ₦25,000 monthly payments, disbursed three times annually.
“This initiative is part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to alleviating the economic challenges faced by vulnerable Nigerians,” he said. “The President specifically tasked us to support 15 million households under the conditional cash transfer scheme to assist those at the lower end of the economic pyramid.”
Yilwatda noted that the programme assumes each household consists of five members, meaning the scheme will benefit approximately 75 million Nigerians.
So far, the government has reached five million individuals, but challenges remain, particularly with meeting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) requirement for digital identities.
“Currently, only 1.4 million people in the social register possess digital identities, which are necessary for transparency and traceability of funds,” the minister explained. He also highlighted that many beneficiaries are from unbanked communities.
The scheme prioritises women as household heads to ensure funds directly benefit children and other vulnerable groups.
The cash transfer programme, initially suspended in January due to corruption concerns, was restarted in February with plans to expand to an additional 12 million households. The initiative falls under the National Social Investment Programme, a cornerstone of President Tinubu’s strategy to address economic hardship in the country.
