In furtherance of its efforts to address the rising poverty level in the country, the Federal Government on Tuesday hinted of its plans to provide cash transfers to 20 million poor Nigerians to improve their socioeconomic well-being amid worsening fiscal whirlwinds nationwide.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who spoke on the plans during a panel session titled ‘Fiscal Reforms for a More Secure Future’ at the 30th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja, maintained that the government’s social investment programme aimed at impacting 60% of the poorest citizens, and directly supporting 20 million households.
According to him, the ongoing government’s economic reforms agenda are designed primarily to reduce inflation, create jobs, and stimulate growth in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, oil, and housing.
Speaking on the rising revenues of the government, the minister attributed the surge over the past year to the effective application of technology, which has reformed the civil service and improved domestic resource mobilization.
The minister clarified: “In terms of revenue, the number one place to look was inwards, domestic resource mobilisation. That’s where the government started. By the first half of this year, revenue had doubled. Aggregate government revenue was more than doubled. And that was achieved by applying technology very robustly.
“We have applied technology in a way that essentially reforms the civil service. Rather than waiting for compliance from government ministries, departments and agencies and government companies, we looked at what the rules and regulations were, how much a company was allowed to spend on its revenue, and then how much of its surplus it had to provide to government.
“The social investment programme is spearheaded by direct transfers to reach 60 per cent poorest in the population. And right now, 20 million households are being supported directly. And it is going to rise to, well, 20 million people, four million households so far, and it will rise to 15 million households who will be paid directly by the government.
“That is how President Tinubu’s government is spending the money which is being yielded from better oil production.”
On the government’s increasing focus on agriculture, manufacturing, oil, and housing sectors to boost the nation’s GDP, the minister explained that the President Bola Tinubu’s administration was looking to food production to help bring down inflation, and that the aim is to “make food more available, affordable, and to reduce the cost of living for Nigerians.”
