Many Nigerians have spoken out against the conditional transfer of N8,000 per month to 12 million poor and vulnerable families by President Bola Tinubu as a palliative for the removal of fuel subsidy.
They said the president is toeing the same path of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari who plunged more Nigerians into poverty rather than lifting them as promised.
While some Nigerians wondered why only 12 million families will get the palliative out of over 200m Nigerians, others argued that the money is a pittance and insignificant given the high cost of living occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.
To others, the money will not get to the poor but will be mismanaged by corrupt government officials as it was done under Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development under the immediate past administration.
In February 2023, Sadiya had informed Nigerians that her ministry had invested over N1.358 trillion in various programmes under its National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) in six years to cater for poor Nigerians. She however couldn’t provide figures to back her claim.
In March 2023, the Sadiya also claimed that 1,940,004 vulnerable Nigerians are currently receiving N5,000 cash gift each every month. However, many Nigerians who spoke said they didn’t receive any alert.
President Tinubu, in a letter of request to the National Assembly had said: “Please note that the Federal Executive Council led by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, approved an additional loan facility to the tune of $800,000,000 to be secured from the World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Programme (the “Programme”) (Copy of FEC Extract attached).
“You may also wish to note that the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock-responsive safety net support for poor and vulnerable Nigerians and to help them cope with the cost of meeting basic needs.
“You may further wish to note that under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the Federal Government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N8,000 per month to 12 million poor and low-income households for six months with a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals.
“In order to guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers will be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets.
“It is expected that the programme will stimulate economic activity in the informal sector and improve nutrition, health and education outcomes for beneficiary households.
“Given the above, I wish to invite the House of Representatives to kindly grant approval for the additional loan facility of $800,000,000.00 to be secured from the World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Programme.”
