The Federal Government has unveiled a plan to distribute ₦75,000 cash transfers to approximately 70 million of Nigeria’s most impoverished citizens by 2025.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, announced this initiative during an appearance on Arise Television’s “The Morning Show.” He detailed that the program aims to register up to 18.1 million Nigerian households through the National Identity Number (NIN) system by the end of January 2025.
“We want to deploy by the end of January across 36 states to ensure we start harvesting the NIN number of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households that we need to capture as fast as possible so that we can make payment for them,” Yilwatda stated. He further explained that the President’s target is to reach 15 million households, averaging four to five individuals per household, thereby impacting roughly 70 million people.
This initiative is part of President Bola Tinubu’s directive to address extreme poverty and create a more inclusive social safety net. The program also seeks to enhance digital identities for low-income Nigerians by collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to increase NIN registrations, ensuring the most vulnerable populations are included in the database.
Yilwatda emphasized the importance of this initiative in light of recent challenges, including climate change impacts and economic reforms that have led to increased poverty levels. He noted that the cash transfers would assist households in starting small businesses, investing in agriculture, and improving overall living conditions.
