The federal government has announced a fresh plan to restart direct cash transfers to the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians amid the current economic crisis.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, discussed this during the Ministry’s retreat held in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state on Wednesday, February 21.
“The presidential panel on the social investment programmes, have prepared to go to Mr. President with an internal recommendation to restart the direct payments to the poorest and the most vulnerable. Everything is being done to ease the pain,” Edun said.
“We know that there’s been about 3 million beneficiaries now, but given the way the rates have gone, there are probably another 12 million people, households that can benefit from that payment.”
According to him, the expansion of the direct cash transfer aims to reach a wider population struggling with the economic situation and to put more money directly in the hands of those who need it most, allowing them to prioritize their needs and alleviate poverty.
Wale Edun stated that technology will be employed to ensure smooth and transparent payments, avoiding manual processes and delays.
He said: “The only thing delaying that is not waiting for the end of the report. It is something that the intervention is meant to happen immediately.
“We have experts in technology, the commitment was to make sure that we use technology to ensure that we have a seamless payment, a seamless movement between the registered and the direct beneficiaries, without any manual processes in between.
So it’s taking time to automate that process immediately that direct payment will resume”.