The Federal Government has disbursed more than N600 billion in cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians over the past three years, reaching slightly more than 10 million households.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, monitored by The News Chronicle on Wednesday.
Doro’s disclosure comes as the Federal Government launches the $1 billion Household Prosperity and Empowerment Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), a new initiative under the broader Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme.
The programme, unveiled by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, targets about 7.6 million vulnerable households across the country. Each eligible household is expected to receive a one-off digital shock-response transfer of N40,000.
According to Doro, HOPE-SP represents a shift in the government’s approach to poverty reduction, moving beyond cash distribution towards tracking beneficiaries and supporting their transition to economic self-reliance.
“We’ve done over 600 billion in cash transfers to be able to support vulnerable Nigerians within three years. We have reached slightly over 10 million households,” the minister said.
He added that the government had established a system to deliberately track poverty and measure the progress of beneficiaries.
Doro also defended the Federal Government’s economic reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the reforms had contributed to greater economic stability.
He dismissed claims that seven million Nigerians had fallen into poverty under the current administration, saying the government was focused on reducing inflation and rebuilding the economy.
Drawing lessons from China’s poverty reduction experience, the minister said Nigeria’s efforts would require time and sustained intervention.
“It took China 40 years to achieve the scale they achieved, Nigeria can scale up poverty reduction,” he said.
Beneficiaries of the HOPE-SP programme must be registered on the National Social Register and have their details validated with a National Identification Number (NIN).
The Federal Government is collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to facilitate NIN registration and strengthen the verification process for eligible households.
Earlier in February, reports indicated that approximately N330 billion had been disbursed to 8.11 million households under the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme, while government data showed that about 19.78 million households were classified as vulnerable on the National Social Register.
The government has since expanded its social intervention efforts, including a $3.05 billion package of programmes announced in July to reduce poverty, strengthen human capital and cushion vulnerable Nigerians against economic shocks.
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The package included about $1.25 billion in additional financing for the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme, which targets smallholder farmers, vulnerable households, small businesses and community livelihood initiatives.
However, concerns remain over the effective implementation of the programmes.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that corruption, political interference and weak implementation could undermine the impact of the Federal Government’s social intervention initiatives.
The group called for stronger safeguards to minimise leakages and ensure that government support reaches its intended beneficiaries.
The concerns come as the Federal Government seeks to expand large-scale cash transfers while transitioning beneficiaries from short-term relief to longer-term economic empowerment.
