Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has called the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) as one of the most important tools for combating poverty internationally.
This was said by her during the Tuesday inauguration of the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) in Abuja.
Edu stated that the CCT was part of the Tinubu administration’s efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of the elimination of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), often known as fuel.
She said that the new initiative would empower the poor and most vulnerable members of the society, adding that the sum was a source of uplifting majority of beneficiaries.
SOUTHERNROBIN reports that the CCT launch was heralded by the symbolic handing over of cheques to a number of households at the venue of the event.
The CCT programme was announced by Tinubu during the Independence Day speech, where he said that 15 million households would each be given ₦25,000 for three consecutive months to alleviate the poverty level.
SOUTHERNROBIN reports that CCT entails transfers given to beneficiaries based on specific actions such as sending children to school or making regular health visits.
The minister said that ₦25,000 would be given to each of the beneficiaries to improve their spending power and economic fortunes in the society.
She also said that the ₦30,000 Iyaloja loan scheme would soon be started for small-scale traders in the country as part of economic revitalisation and empowerment.
SOUTHERNROBIN also reports that five beneficiaries, Larai Suleiman, Shuaiabu Hassana, Sariki Gamu, Okor Jonah and Hameed Isiaka, were each given their first monthly instalment payment.
Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, vowed that the CCT programme would be transparent in accordance with extant global practices. He said that the programme had an in-built mechanism to reveal all the beneficiaries upon an enquiry.
Edun said programme was one of the various measures taken by President Bola Tinubu to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.
The World Bank Country Representative, Shubham Chaudhuri, said the institution was ready to support Nigeria for taking the bold economic measure for diverting funds from the shackles of fuel subsidy.
He said that the bank was interested in helping its 189 member states to eliminate poverty among their different peoples.
Chaudhuri stated that the CCT program was one of the palliatives promised by the president to alleviate the immediate consequences of the subsidy reduction.
In order to fulfill its goals, he encouraged the necessary authorities to guarantee that the fund reached the most disadvantaged sections of society.
