FG disqualifies Nigerians without NIN, BVN from cash transfer as CBN begins disbursement

The Nigerian government is reviewing and expanding the National Social Register to accommodate pensioners and veterans under the Conditional Cash Transfer programme.

It also removed those who have left the poverty line and dead beneficiaries from the register.

FG to disqualify beneficiaries without NINs and BVNs

However, the federal government would only disqualify those without the National Identification Numbers (NINs) and Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would make payments directly to beneficiaries and not via consultants.

The first batch of bulk payments would begin next week, with an initial five million households receiving N25,000.

The programme is part of the National Social Investment Programme of the Nigerian government, conceived to change the lives of millions of citizens living in extreme poverty, lift their living standards, and improve the economy.

President Bola Tinubu launched the disbursement of N25,000 to 15 million households for three months on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, to commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in Abuja.

The scheme aims to eradicate poverty in Nigeria The objective is to stem the impact of the recent subsidy removal and eradicate poverty across Nigeria.

Punch reports that the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Rasheed Olarenwaju, said that the federal government had reviewed and expanded the cash transfer initiative.

He said the ministry uses the verified and expanded register containing pensioners, veterans, and other vulnerable persons not previously captured in the record.