The Federal Government of Nigeria recently stated its commitment to transfer 8,000 naira to about 12 million poor households in the country. This was made known by President who stated that the transfer will be made to poor households in the country for the period of six months.
Recall that towards the expiration of the previous administration, the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, had written to the Senate seeking approval to take a loan of $800 million from the World Bank to cushion the effects of subsidy removal. Former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had stated that the disbursement of the grant was in light of the planned subsidy removal in June 2023.
President Tinubu did not waste time in removing the petrol subsidy, announcing its end during his inaugural speech on May 29. The President wrote to the Senate seeking the approval of the Senate for $8OO million palliative loan from the World Bank.
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“You may also wish to know that the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock-responsive safety net supports for all and vulnerable Nigerians and the cost of meeting basic needs,” President Tinubu said in a letter to the Senate.
Tinubu explained that “under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the federal government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of 8000 a month to 12 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months with a multiplying effect on about 60 million individuals.”
What to Know about the 8,000 naira Cash Transfer
The programme is expected to stimulate economic activities in the informal sector and improve nutrition, health, and education outcomes for households who will be benefiting from the cash transfer programme.
A request was made to the Nigerian senate to kindly grant approvals for additional loan facilities of USD800milliom to be secured from world bank for the national social safety net programme.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has earmarked the sum of N500 billion extracted from the 2022 supplementary budget of N819 billion for the provision of palliative to vulnerable Nigerians to lessen the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.
However, the Nigerian government is still carrying out consultation with major stakeholders on how to implement this policy drive of the new administration. The President also mentioned that for transparency and credibility of the scheme, the money will be transferred to the household digitally.