VAM News Update

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that Nigerians who do not possess a National Identification Number (NIN) or a Bank Verification Number (BVN) will not be eligible for the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme. This decision comes as the Federal Government seeks to review and expand the National Social Register to include pensioners and ex-servicemen.

Additionally, beneficiaries who are either deceased or no longer classified as living below the poverty line have been removed from the program. Payments will be made directly to the beneficiaries by the CBN, with the first batch of bulk payments set to commence next week for five million households.

The Conditional Cash Transfer scheme is a key component of the Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme, aimed at improving the lives of millions of Nigerians living in extreme poverty and boosting the overall economy.

President Bola Tinubu recently launched the distribution of N25,000 to 15 million households for three months as part of the social safety net intervention, in commemoration of the 2023 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The initiative aims to mitigate the effects of the recent fuel subsidy removal and eradicate poverty nationwide.

Rasheed Olanrewaju, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, provided further details on the expanded cash transfer scheme.

He confirmed that the Federal Government will be using a verified and expanded register that includes pensioners, veterans, and other vulnerable individuals who were previously not captured in the program, instead of relying on the register used during the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration.