Minister: Over 46m Nigerians now on national social register

Sadiya Umar Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, says over 46 million vulnerable Nigerians have been captured on the national social register as of January 2022.

The minister spoke on Thursday at a media briefing held in Abuja.

As of December 2020, the federal government announced that 24.3 million Nigerians had been captured.

The figure was said to have increased to 30 million in March 2021.

Speaking on Thursday, the minister said insecurity has contributed to the increase in the number of displaced persons in need of intervention, adding that the conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme was initiated to support the poor and vulnerable.

While commenting on IDP relocation, she said no displaced person will be returned to a community that is not safe.

“As part of the strategy to reach the most vulnerable in the society, the ministry continues to give N5,000 as part of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme to very poor and vulnerable citizens,” she said.

“The cash transfer beneficiaries are derived from the national social register which captures the poor and vulnerable citizens across the country. National social register as at the end of January 2022 has captured over 46 million individuals.

“For an IDP to be relocated to their community, that community has to be safe for return. They have to be returned in safety and dignity; that is our guiding principle.

“We are doing this in collaboration with the Borno state government that has started relocating these IDPs. As mentioned in my presentation, we have built houses — 1,000 of them — and we have handed them over to the Borno government.

“No IDP will be returned to a community that is not safe for return. That is the first strategy and I am sure that is being followed. But there can be spontaneous attacks even when an area is declared safe for return. We might have issues here and there but the security agents are on top of it.

“The principle is to return them safely and in dignity. You have to provide the basic amenities when they return; you support them and empower them and that is being done through the ministry in partnership with the Borno state government.”