Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has revealed that the federal government has disbursed N330 billion to 8.5 million poor households under its conditional cash transfer programme.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Edun said each household received at least one tranche of N25,000 through the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO).
He said some households got one tranche while others received two or three payments.
The World Bank had approved $800 million for the Bola Tinubu administration to fund the initiative, which targets 15 million poor households with three instalments of N25,000 each.
In May, the bank criticised the scheme, noting that only 37 percent of targeted households had been reached two years after the programme began.
At the time, the bank said 5.6 million households had received payments out of the planned 15 million.
Edun said initial challenges with linking National Identity Numbers (NIN) to bank accounts and mobile wallets slowed the process.
He added that the issues have now been resolved and that the remaining seven million households will be paid before the end of the year.
“So far, 8.5 million households have received at least one tranche of N25,000. Some have received two or three payments. The remaining seven million households will be paid before the end of the year,” the minister said.
He explained that the intervention is part of President Tinubu’s strategy to cushion the effects of subsidy removal and exchange rate harmonisation on vulnerable Nigerians.
The minister said about 19.7 million poor and vulnerable households — representing over 70 million individuals — have been captured in the national social register.
He described the programme as “robust and sustainable,” adding that it will be included in annual budgets to guarantee continuity.
“We now have the basis for a modern social protection system that can provide targeted assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable on a long-term basis,” Edun said.
