Tinubu’s Reforms: cash aid rolled out to 8.1 Million vulnerable families

By: Chidozie Nwali

54 per cent of targeted households have benefited from the conditional cash transfer programme launched by the Federal Government of Nigeria to cushion economic hardship for vulnerable households, Since October 2023.

According to a report on Wednesday from Nigeria’s National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) revealing that the program has achieved a 54% beneficiary coverage rate as of August 2025. The report, which outlines the progress of the initiative, indicates that 8.1 million households have received payments, bringing the program past its halfway point toward its target of 15 million households by December 2025.

An additional 2.2 million households have been paid since the last reporting cycle in June 2025. This increase is attributed to successful validation of Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and National Identity Numbers (NIN). While the report notes a delay in the pace of disbursement due to a lag in beneficiary NIN enrollment, it states that this issue is being addressed.

The programme was relaunched in 2023, following the “bold economic reforms” embarked by the President Bola Tinubu administration. These reforms include: removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market. The targeted cash transfers are aimed at directly supporting those within the lowest poverty bracket, affected by the harsh policies.

A gender analysis from the NSIP panel  reveals that 61% of beneficiaries are female, while 39% are male. The panel has set an ambition to ensure that 45% of the 15 million household target are female-led households.

Regional split, the North accounting for 72% of all disbursements and the South making up the remaining 28%.

The World Bank had approved an $800m loan for the initiative, and in its earlier Nigeria Development Update report titled ‘Building Momentum for Inclusive Growth’, the World Bank called on the government to hasten up with the cash transfers, to help the vulnerable households survive the post “bold reforms” economic realities.

However, NSIP report showed the third disbursement  payment tranche reached 6.89 million households, while the first and second tranches have covered 2.75 million and 2.43 million households respectively.