President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer, a social protection programme that will provide N25,000 monthly to 15 million vulnerable households in Nigeria.
The programme, which was launched on Tuesday at the State House in Abuja, coincides with the World Poverty Eradication Day, a global event that aims to raise awareness and action to end poverty.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, represented the president at the launch, which was attended by several dignitaries, including the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Eradication, Betta Edu; the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; the World Bank Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri; and the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Matthias Schmale.
The president had announced the cash transfer programme in his maiden Independence Day broadcast to Nigerians on October 1, 2023, as part of his administration’s efforts to uplift the living standards of millions of Nigerians who are living below the poverty line.
According to the humanitarian affairs minister, the 15 million households represent 62 million Nigerians who will benefit from the programme. She said that each household will receive N25,000 every month for three months, which amounts to N75,000 in total.
She also revealed that another scheme, code-named ‘Iya Loja Funds’, will be launched soon to provide soft loans of N50,000 to support petty traders. Furthermore, she said that farmers will be given incentives to boost their farm yields at the beginning of the next farming season.
The World Bank Country Director expressed his organisation’s support for the scheme and commended the president for his vision and commitment to eradicate poverty in Nigeria.
The finance minister said that a biometric auditing system will be put in place to ensure efficiency and accountability in the disbursement of the funds to the beneficiaries. He said that the system will also help to identify and eliminate ghost beneficiaries and fraudsters.
