FG begins monthly payment of N5, 000 to one million Nigerians

The Federal Government has commenced the monthly payment of N5, 000 stipend to the poorest and most vulnerable in the country through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes (SIP).

Under the CCT, one million poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians would receive N5, 000 monthly as a form of social safety net.

In the first batch that commenced last week, nine states were covered and many of the beneficiaries had acknowledged receiving their first payment by Friday, December 30, 2016.

Funds for the commencement of the programme in four states were released last week to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS)-the platform that hosts and validates payments for all government’s social intervention programmes.

Another set of five states would get funds to complete the first batch.

Though the sequence for the payment of the money would be operationally managed by NIBSS, beneficiaries in Borno, Kwara and Bauchi States have started receiving the money. The other states in the first batch to commence the CCT payments are Cross Rivers, Niger, Kogi, Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti states.

In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, the nine pilot states were chosen because they had a social register that successfully identified the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians through a tried and tested community-based targeting (CBT) method working with the World Bank.

Other states have already begun developing their social registers and would be included in subsequent phases of the CCT implementation.

“Beneficiaries of the CCT would be mined from the social register, initially developed by eight states through a direct engagement with the World Bank.

Those states are featured in the first batch, with the added inclusion of Borno States where validated lists of IDPS were compiled in addition to the Social Register which is expected to go round the country,” Akande said.

He said: “Working with the World Bank, the CBT process has now been adopted for developing the social register in the other states around the country, for transparency, objectivity and credibility in the selection of the poorest and most vulnerable beneficiaries for the programme.”

Plateau, Jigawa, Adamawa, Anambra, Benue, Enugu, Katsina & Taraba states have so far complied with the stipulated framework provided, and are set for the community-based targeting method for the development of their social register within their jurisdictions.

He continued: “The Federal Government would commence community mobilisation for the creation of the register in more states to expand the scope and reach of the CCT across the country. These states are to be followed by Delta, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Imo and Ogun States.”

Akande added: “All funds approved for the Federal Government’s SIP are domiciled with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.