Buhari kicks-off N5000 monthly payment to 1 million impoverished Nigerians

- One million very poor Nigerians are to get N5000 monthly says the Federal Government (FG) - The FG says the programme has begun in earnest - Funds for the commencement of the payments in four states were released last week The Federal Government (FG) has started disbursing the N5000 stipend which was promised to poor Nigerians by President Muhammadu Buhari. One million most vulnerable Nigerians will be rewarded with a N5,000 monthly stipend through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes (SIP). The Tribune reports that, the presidency announced that the Federal Government has begun the payment. Buhari kicks-off N5000 monthly payment to 1 million impoverished Nigerians Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed that the implementation of the programme was part of the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s determined efforts to touch the lives of Nigerians positively.

“Funds for the commencement of the payments 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. Funds for another set of five states to complete the first batch of nine states would follow soon,” he revealed. The statement said beneficiaries in Borno, Kwara and Bauchi states have started receiving the money under the first batch, which also includes Cross Rivers, Niger, Kogi, Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti states. The nine pilot states were reportedly chosen because they have existing social registers that successfully identified the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians through a tried and tested community based targeting (CBT) method working with the World Bank. “Those states are featured in the first batch, with the added inclusion of Borno State where a validated list of IDPS was compiled in addition to the Social Register, which is expected to go round the country. “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,” the statement read. The statement, also revealed that the sequence for the payment of the money would be operationally managed by NIBSS. In a similar vein, the FG has started the payment of N30,000 monthly stipends for beneficiaries of the N-Power scheme, the job creation programme of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Laolu Akande, the senior special assistant, media and publicity, office of the vice-president, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, December 30, stating that: “all successfully verified beneficiaries who have provided bank accounts are being processed for payment’’. According to him “some beneficiaries will receive their first stipends on December 30.’’