The Federal Government has disclosed that it has disbursed more than N600 billion through its cash-transfer programme to vulnerable Nigerians since President Bola Tinubu assumed office three years ago.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, made the disclosure on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, explaining that the intervention was designed to provide direct financial support to poor and vulnerable households across the country.
According to the minister, the programme has reached slightly more than 10 million households since its implementation, a figure he said could translate to approximately 40 million individuals when calculated using an average household size of four people.
“We have done over N600 billion in cash transfers to be able to support vulnerable Nigerians within three years,” Doro said.
The minister presented the cash-transfer scheme as one of the major interventions of the Tinubu administration aimed at cushioning the effects of economic hardship and improving the living conditions of Nigerians at the lowest levels of society.
The programme has attracted attention amid persistent concerns over rising living costs, food prices, transportation expenses and declining purchasing power. Government officials have repeatedly maintained that social intervention programmes are necessary to protect vulnerable households while broader economic reforms take effect.
Doro argued that the significance of the programme should not be judged solely by the amount received by individual beneficiaries, stressing that relatively modest payments could have substantial value for households living at the extreme end of the poverty spectrum.
“N25,000 can look very small to elites, but not to the poorest of the poor,” he said.
He explained that the government’s objective was to ensure that the benefits of economic policies were eventually felt by ordinary citizens, particularly those who may not immediately benefit from improvements in major economic indicators.
The minister described his responsibility as ensuring that broader macroeconomic developments translate into tangible improvements at the household level.
“My job is to translate macroeconomic gains as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. I translate the microeconomic gains to the micro level, and you can see the traction,” he said.
Beyond direct cash assistance, Doro said the Federal Government had expanded its poverty-reduction efforts to include vocational training and support for small businesses.
He disclosed that the government recently launched a vocational skills programme under which more than 18,000 Nigerians had been trained and provided with starter kits and stipends.
According to him, the programme goes beyond technical training by equipping participants with basic business management and accounting skills.
The objective, he explained, is to give beneficiaries the tools required to establish and sustain businesses rather than simply providing temporary assistance.
The provision of starter kits is expected to enable trained participants to put their newly acquired skills into practice, while the stipends are intended to provide additional support during the transition from training to income-generating activities.
Doro also disclosed that the government was implementing a separate intervention targeted at farmers as part of its broader strategy to improve livelihoods and tackle poverty.
The agricultural support programme, he said, forms part of efforts to strengthen household incomes and improve economic opportunities for Nigerians, particularly those whose livelihoods depend on farming.
The minister’s comments come against the backdrop of continuing economic pressure on households across the country. Nigerians have faced significant increases in the cost of food and other essential commodities, prompting concerns about the ability of low-income families to meet their basic needs.
The Federal Government has consequently continued to emphasise social protection as an important component of its economic reform programme.
Doro said the administration was also paying close attention to the threat of food insecurity, particularly in northern states affected by conflict and insecurity.
He referred to projections indicating that more than 70 million people across nine conflict-affected states could face acute food insecurity.
However, the minister cautioned against interpreting the projected figure as a confirmation that all those individuals would necessarily experience severe food shortages.
He explained that the figure represented a projection based on existing conditions and risks rather than a definitive assessment of the number of people who would ultimately become food insecure.
According to him, the government is monitoring the situation and is prepared to intervene in areas where food-security risks become more pronounced.
As part of that response, the Federal Government recently implemented a presidential intervention on food and nutrition across 10 northern states.
Doro said the intervention was designed to address emerging food and nutrition challenges and provide assistance in areas considered vulnerable to worsening food insecurity.
He maintained that the government would continue monitoring developments across the affected states and take additional measures where necessary.
The minister’s remarks suggest that the Federal Government’s poverty-reduction strategy is being pursued through several complementary channels, including direct cash transfers, vocational training, agricultural support and food and nutrition interventions.
While cash transfers provide immediate relief to vulnerable households, skills development and agricultural programmes are intended to create longer-term opportunities for beneficiaries to generate sustainable incomes.
The government believes that combining short-term social protection with economic empowerment can help reduce dependence on direct assistance and improve the resilience of vulnerable households.
Doro also sought to emphasise the connection between economic policy and social welfare, arguing that improvements in the wider economy must ultimately be reflected in the daily experiences of ordinary Nigerians.
The administration has introduced several economic reforms since taking office, including changes to fuel pricing and foreign-exchange management. While the government has defended the reforms as necessary for long-term economic stability, they have also contributed to increased pressure on household budgets.
Against this background, social intervention programmes have become a key part of the government’s response to the immediate consequences of economic adjustment.
The disclosure that more than N600 billion has been transferred to vulnerable Nigerians is therefore likely to fuel further debate over the effectiveness, reach and transparency of the programme.
Questions around beneficiary selection, monitoring, accountability and the long-term sustainability of cash assistance are likely to remain important as the government expands its poverty-reduction initiatives.
For the Federal Government, however, the stated objective remains to ensure that vulnerable Nigerians are not left behind as the country pursues broader economic reforms.
Doro’s position is that government intervention must bridge the gap between improvements in national economic indicators and the realities faced by households struggling with poverty.
With millions of households reportedly reached through cash transfers and thousands more supported through vocational and agricultural programmes, the administration is presenting its social-protection strategy as an important pillar of its response to economic hardship.
The continuing challenge will be whether these interventions can translate into lasting improvements in household incomes, food security and living standards, particularly as the government confronts persistent inflation and other pressures affecting the Nigerian economy.
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