The Federal Government has identified those who will not be eligible for the cash transfer while preparing to start cash transfers across the nation to reduce poverty throughout Nigeria.

Instead of using consultants, the Bola Tinubu administration will use the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to transfer the monies directly to the recipients.

Beginning next week, five million families would receive their first batch of bulk payments.

The Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme includes the Conditional Cash Transfer system as a component. This program aims to improve the lives of millions of Nigerians who live in extreme poverty, raise their standard of life, and stimulate the nation’s economy.

President Tinubu announced a N25,000 handout to 15 million homes over a three-month period as a social safety net intervention on Tuesday in Abuja in honor of the 2023 International Day for the Abolition of Poverty.

The goal is to lessen the impact of the recent termination of fuel subsidies while also assisting in the eradication of poverty throughout the country.

As part of its Conditional Cash Transfer program, the Federal Government is updating and expanding the National Social Register to include retirees and former service members.

Additionally, people who have earned more money than the poverty line are being deleted.

In addition, the government is disqualifying recipients who lack National Identification Numbers or Bank Verification Numbers and eliminating deceased beneficiaries from the list.

The cash transfer scheme has been reviewed and expanded, according to Rasheed Olanrewaju, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

When questioned if the Federal Government will utilise the previous register used by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to transfer the money, he stated, “We are using a verified expanded register that has pensioners and veterans, as well as other vulnerable persons who were not captured.”

Confirming the minister’s media aide’s viewpoint, Jamaldeen Kabir, the National Communications Manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, indicated that individuals who had moved out of poverty were being removed from the registry.

“What he (Olanrewaju) told you is very correct because the register is being expanded. First of all, it has to be verified so that those who are out of the poverty line will be removed from the old register.

“Those in the register, are they still within the poverty line or have they exited the line? The expansion will also include the wives of fallen heroes and pensioners.”

When asked when the cash transfers would begin, Olanrewaju stated that although bulk payments would begin next week, some of the individuals who had been vetted had already been receiving payment alerts.

“The cash transfer (scheme) has been launched and once a household is verified, they get paid. The batches begin this month, next week to be precise; however, verified people have started receiving alerts.”

“Actually, when the programme was launched at the Presidential Villa three days ago, some beneficiaries were presented with some cheques,” Kabir remarked when asked when the financial transfers would begin.

“So, before this month ends, the beneficiaries in the first phase will receive theirs, and this phase caters to five million households. So, we are expecting those five million households to receive money in the months of October, November and December.”

The minister’s adviser stated that several steps had been put in place to make the system legitimate, such as the establishment of the NIN and BVN, when asked how many ghost beneficiaries had been detected.

“They may not be ghosts, but we have put in place many controls to make the process credible and clean. First, we looked for the NIN and BVN to match with in-person verification and biometrics.

“The process is from the CBN to the beneficiaries; there are no middlemen.

“We have struck off many names following the verification. We’ll know the ultimate sum in a few weeks; it might be in the millions”.

“Some are dead; some are no longer in that category (of the poor) and some could not be identified at locations given, so wait till we get the compilation ready.

“All these will be determined when the final report is out. At the moment, the names will be placed in communities and we will compensate those who have been properly confirmed.

“Fifteen million households amount to about 62 million individuals, with an average of five persons per household”, he concluded.

FG Speaks On Eligibility, CBN To Begin Disbursement

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