…..As World Bank Expresses Support For Initiative
The Federal Government has launched the conditional cash transfer programme targeted at 15 million households nationwide, which are to receive N75,000 each within three months.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu during the launching of the programme on Tuesday, said the current administration had strategized several means to tackle poverty in the country.
Speaking on the theme “Decent Work and Social Protection: Putting Dignity in Practice for All” at the event, the President highlighted the steps his administration would follow to reduce the spread of poverty in the country.
He assured: “My government will lead from the front in seeking to ensure that all Nigerians have opportunities for dignified work and sustained social protection,”
In her remarks at the event, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Betta Edu, who disclosed that 15 million households across the country will get N75,000 within three months during the programme’s implementation, explained that adequate verification process had been conducted to ensure the funds get to the deserving beneficiaries.
She expatiated: “Our President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has resolved that Nigerians would have both immediate short-term, medium-term or long-term interventions to cushion not just the effect of force subsidy or any economic shock but to ensure that we can pull Nigerians out of poverty while preventing mitigating against the humanitarian crisis that has led lots of Nigerians into being displaced or living below the poverty line.”
Also commenting on the initiative, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Olawale Edun, rued the rate of poverty in Nigeria and restated the commitment of the President to reducing poverty level in the country
Also, the World Bank’s Country Representative to Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, noted that programme such as the conditional cash transfer remained one of the most potent ways to assist vulnerable citizens against economic shocks.
He expatiated: “This aid is crucial in helping them overcome the initial period during which they might otherwise be compelled to make decisions with long-term consequences. For instance, these decisions might include reducing daily meals to just one or withdrawing their children from school.
“The type of cash transfer referred to as ‘shock-responsive cash transfer’ that is currently being implemented is utilized by countries worldwide to offer temporary relief in such situations”, Chaudhuri added.
