The Tinubu Media Support Group has hailed the disbursement of funds to 15 million households under the Conditional Cash Transfer programme of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

The group said the payout was due to the delay in the full implementation of a scheme, which it said was central to the administration’s quest to lift millions of vulnerable Nigerians out of acute poverty.

Chairman of TMSG, Emeka Nwankpa, in a statement on Saturday, said with the newly inaugurated inter-agency task force in place, the stage was set for a wider coverage of the poverty-alleviation scheme.

Mr Nwankpa stated, “We are aware that President Bola Tinubu formally launched the Conditional Cash Transfer programme targeted at 15 million households across the country soon after assuming office in 2023. The idea was to improve on the same scheme introduced by his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, by reaching more Nigerians than the 1.6 million households (8 million individuals) who benefited from the Buhari administration’s disbursement of N10,000 bi-monthly as of 2021. So, President Tinubu’s CCT initiative is clearly more ambitious, with the target of ensuring that 15 million households receive N25,000 per month thrice in a year.’’

The group noted that since the announcement, the process had been delayed by financial inclusion bottlenecks, which it noted was addressed by an inter-agency task force.

The task force includes the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

“We view the composition of the task force as a statement of intent. The Tinubu administration is set to navigate issues of distrust that characterise the previous scheme and ensure that all beneficiaries have a digital footprint aside from bank accounts. We still recall how state governments under the auspices of the National Economic Council (NEC), in July 2023, disowned the National Social Register (NSR), the database for vulnerable populations used by the Buhari administration for the CCT programme.

“But now, with NIMC working with the Central Bank and other relevant humanitarian agencies, we are convinced that more of the intended beneficiaries would be able to have the NIN, which is now mandatory for benefitting from the CCT and other social services. In addition, the issue of distrust in disbursement would be addressed, and the possibility of funds getting to intended beneficiaries would be higher with proper documentation and identification,” said TMSG.

It commended the Tinubu administration for taking the additional steps against the backdrop of the alarm raised by the World Bank recently on increasing poverty in rural Nigeria and the need to ramp up social protection initiatives.

“Recently, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, told Mr Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President, West and Central Africa, that there was evidence that six million households were benefiting from the scheme. So, we hope that in due course, the Tinubu administration’s target of reaching out to 15 million vulnerable households would be met,” said the group.

It urged agencies involved in the process to live up to expectations by ensuring swift completion of the task of addressing the delay in cushioning the impact of economic hardship on vulnerable Nigerians.

(NAN)