This is according to data from the World Bank’s Lead
Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, during his presentation of the Nigeria
Development Update, December 2023 edition last week in Abuja.
According to his presentation document, the Federal
Government plans to make cash transfers to low-income households, paying
N25,000 per month for three months.
Sienaert disclosed that “Currently 1.5 million households
have received money, and the programme is expected to reach five million
households by the end of December.”
With only 1.5 million households paid out of the targeted 15
million, it means that payment has been made to only 0.1 per cent of the
projected households.
This also means that 99.9 per cent of the targets are yet to
get their monthly N25,000 cash transfers despite the overwhelming hardship in
the country.
The elimination of fuel subsidies and other recent policies
have had a disproportionate impact on Nigeria’s poor and vulnerable, who stand
to benefit greatly from a monthly cash transfer system that the Federal
Government intends to fund with the World Bank loan.
The PUNCH reports that the disbursement may have been
hampered by a low number of poor and vulnerable people with National Identity
Numbers, a criterion needed to receive the cash transfer.
The target percentage of individuals registered in the
National Social Registry with a valid national ID number from the National
Identity Management Commission was 20 per cent by June 30, 2022.
However, as of December 31, 2022, only 0.10 per cent of the
totally poor and vulnerable Nigerians on the registry had NIN.
It means that out of the 9.67 million (9,666,420) total
beneficiaries of this project, only about 9,670 persons have NIN.
Stressing the role of NIN in the cash transfer program, the
World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria said in his presentation, Following the
launch, the State Social Registers is going through a robust verification
process led by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty
Alleviation, in conjunction with the State governments.
“Beneficiaries will be supported to enrol for the NIN during
the verification process to expand the coverage and use of the national
identity number.”