FG Reaches 6 Million Nigerians in 6 Months Through Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme – Minister
Abuja, May 22, 2025: The Federal Government of Nigeria has reached 6 million Nigerians through its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme within the past six months, according to Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. This milestone, announced on Thursday, reflects a significant acceleration of the programme, which previously supported only 2 million beneficiaries over nine years. The minister highlighted the adoption of digital strategies to enhance efficiency and transparency, targeting 15 million households by October 2025. The announcement has sparked discussions on social media platforms like X, with reactions ranging from praise for the programme’s scale to skepticism about its implementation and long-term impact.
Details of the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme
The National Cash Transfer Programme, also known as the Household Uplifting Programme (HUP), is a cornerstone of Nigeria’s social safety net, launched in September 2016 under the National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) with World Bank support. It aims to provide financial assistance to poor and vulnerable households, addressing deficiencies in human capital development through cash transfers conditioned on health, education, and environmental improvements. Beneficiaries are drawn from the National Social Register (NSR), which compiles data on vulnerable households across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement reported by Nairametrics and Punch, Minister Yilwatda revealed that the programme’s revamped approach has enabled it to reach 6 million Nigerians in just six months, averaging 1 million beneficiaries per month. This is a marked improvement from the programme’s earlier performance, which saw only 200,000 beneficiaries annually from 2016 to 2024. The minister attributed the success to digitisation efforts, including:
- Digital Identity and E-Wallets: All households on the NSR are being assigned digital identities and e-wallet accounts to streamline payments and enhance transparency.
- Physical Verification: The ministry has conducted physical verifications, removing erroneous entries from the NSR to ensure only eligible beneficiaries receive funds.
- Targeting Hard-to-Reach Areas: Approximately 4% of potential beneficiaries in remote or insecure areas remain unverified, but efforts are ongoing to include them.
The programme currently disburses N25,000 monthly to eligible households for three months, totaling N75,000 per household, as part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope initiative launched in October 2023. The goal is to support 15 million households—approximately 62 million Nigerians—by October 2025, addressing poverty exacerbated by economic reforms like petrol subsidy removal and foreign exchange market unification.
Context and Economic Impact
Nigeria faces a severe poverty crisis, with 106 million citizens living in extreme poverty (below $1.90/day), representing 15% of the world’s poorest population, per a 2024 World Bank report. The CCT programme, initially slow to scale, has been criticized for inefficiencies, with only 5.6 million households (37% of the targeted 15 million) receiving payments by late 2024, according to the World Bank. The revalidation of the NSR, led by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has cleared 2.3 million households for payments, with biometric verification ensuring eligibility.
The programme’s economic impact is significant but faces challenges. The N24.78 billion disbursed to 991,261 households in 2024, as reported by Punch, aims to improve household finances, promote savings, and enhance health and nutrition. However, Nigeria’s 33.69% inflation rate and 40.53% food inflation in April 2024, driven by subsidy reforms, diminish the purchasing power of these transfers. Critics argue that the N75,000 payout over three months is insufficient to lift households out of poverty sustainably.
Social Media Reactions
Posts on X reflect a mix of optimism and skepticism. @TheNationNews reported, “Cash transfer: FG supports 6 million Nigerians in 6 months – Minister,” while @TheWhistlerNG and @MobilePunch echoed the milestone, emphasizing the programme’s accelerated pace. @m_malumfashi noted, “The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has revealed that six million Nigerians have benefited from the Federal Government’s Conditional Cash Transfer programme within the past six months.” However, users like @JosiahAIlori expressed concerns about implementation, stating, “They only want to create an avenue to disburse cash into their families and political party members’ accounts and not to vulnerable Nigerians as claimed.” Others, like @EconomicConf, praised the digitisation efforts, noting, “FG’s focus on biometric verification ensures transparency in cash transfers.”
Broader Initiatives and Challenges
The CCT programme is part of a broader social investment strategy under Tinubu’s administration. In January 2025, the government approved N4 billion for cash transfers to 10 million displaced households, targeting vulnerable groups like widows and pregnant women, per Punch. Additional initiatives include N2 billion in interest-free loans for rural farmers and N200 billion for agricultural interventions to address food security. The Skills-to-Wealth (S2W) programme, highlighted by Yilwatda, focuses on empowering youths in agriculture, renewable energy, and automobiles.
However, challenges persist. The World Bank has urged Nigeria to intensify support for the poorest households, citing slow implementation. The NSR’s credibility was questioned in 2023 by the National Economic Council, leading states to develop their own registers. Fraud concerns, which prompted the suspension of NSIPA programmes in January 2024, continue to cast a shadow, with ongoing revalidation efforts aiming to restore trust.
Outlook and Implications
The FG’s achievement of reaching 6 million Nigerians in six months demonstrates a commitment to scaling up poverty alleviation efforts. However, meeting the October 2025 target of 15 million households requires overcoming logistical hurdles, particularly in insecure and remote areas. The programme’s success hinges on sustained funding, transparent disbursement, and addressing inflation’s erosive effects. As Nigeria navigates economic reforms, the CCT’s role in cushioning vulnerable populations remains critical, but long-term solutions like job creation and infrastructure investment are needed to reduce poverty sustainably.
Sources: Nairametrics, Punch, The Whistler, Daily Trust, Economic Confidential, and posts on X.web:0,5,6,9,16,17,21post:0,1,2,3,4,5
