Tinubu launches cash transfer to 15m households, says hope is here

President Bola Tinubu has launched the renewed hope conditional cash transfer to 15 million households.

Tinubu was represented by George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), at the launch of the conditional transfer on Tuesday held at the State House, Abuja.

The launch event coincided with World Poverty Eradication Day.

According to the president, the renewed hope conditional cash transfer programme is an immediate intervention to cushion the effects of the removal of the petrol subsidy and other economic shocks.

Tinubu said the theme of this year’s World Poverty Eradication Day, “Decent Work and Social Protection: Putting dignity in practice for all” is in perfect alignment with the renewed hope agenda.

He said his administration would lead from the front in ensuring that all Nigerians have opportunities for dignified work and sustained social protection.

“It is only via a sustained collaborative approach that we can win this war against poverty in Nigeria and the world at large,” the president said.

“Hope is here. I ask the Nigerian people to please ensure that they key into all the available programmes because they are here to help.”

“Our objective is to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty. Yet, this will only be possible with the cooperation of the people we seek to help.

“Let us continue to work together to achieve our collective goal of eradicating poverty in Nigeria.”

Speaking at the event, Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, commended Tinubu for providing the opportunity for 15 million households to benefit from the conditional cash transfers.

The minister said the first phase of the payments had already begun, adding that the names of beneficiaries were gotten from the national social register.

“Verification has been ongoing in the last three weeks, and Nigerians that are on that register have been verified with their biometrics verification number (BVN), national identification number (NIN), as well as all the forms of in-person verification at the points of their household,” she said.

“Remember that it would be an expansion of this register, which would carry the vulnerable pensioners, veterans and wives of fallen heroes, as well as other areas of concern where they were not fully captured, but however, we are starting.

“And what we are starting with are those that have been verified across all the states in Nigeria.”