By Seyi Babalola
President Bola Tinubu began distributing N25,000 per month to 15 million families on Tuesday.
“I at this moment flag off the Renewed Hope conditional cash transfer program for 15 million households targeted at uplifting poor and vulnerable Nigerians as an immediate intervention to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal and other economic shocks,” Tinubu told guests and international partners who converged on the Press Gallery of the State House, Abuja.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government and Organized Labor on October 2, 2023, has 15 elements, one of which is the conditional cash transfer.
According to Metrowatchxtra.com, Labour set the first day of its indefinite nationwide strike for Tuesday, October 3, in protest of what it called the government’s refusal to “meaningfully engage and reach agreements” with it regarding the effects of the increase in the price of gasoline, which “has unleashed massive suffering on Nigeria workers and masses.
“It’s going to be a total shutdown…until the government meets the demand of Nigerian workers, and in fact Nigerian masses,” the union leaders affirmed in a joint statement dated September 26, 2023.
Following the MoU signed on October 2, Labour suspended its plan for 30 days, promising to revisit it if the FG fails to implement the immediate parts of the agreement within 30 days.
Speaking on Tuesday, which is also the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said his administration is “partnering with the World Bank Group and other development partners to implement conditional cash transfers, business grants and other forms of support for the most vulnerable households via the National social safety net expansion programme.”
He continued, “The theme of this year’s commemoration, Decent Work and Social Protection: Putting dignity in practice for all, is no doubt in perfect alignment with the Renewed Hope agenda.
“My government will lead from the front in seeking to ensure that all Nigerians have opportunities decent for dignified work and sustained social protection.”
But he said that the government is striving to create and implement a number of other strategies and initiatives to serve Nigerians from all walks of life.
The release of 2000 metric tons of grains from the strategic grain reserves to households across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, the distribution of 225,000 metric tons of fertilizer and seedlings to farmers committed to the program, and the cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland are a few examples. These investments total N100 billion, N200 billion, and N300 billion, respectively.
One million households will benefit from the Renewed Hope Shelter Programme for the Poor, Refugees, and Internally Displaced, and two million people will be helped by the Renewed Hope Business Grants and loans for Vulnerable Market Women, Farmers, and Traders to Expand Their Businesses.
61 million Nigerians, according to Dr. Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, stand to gain from the program each month in October, November, and December.
So, over the course of three months, 15 million families would get a total of 75,000 Naira, she explained. This means that the conditional cash transfer directly benefits 61 million Nigerians.
“Why do we call it conditional cash transfer? And what really can it do for Nigerians? If we are sincere with ourselves and as a country, we all must put our hands together to make progress.
“We must recognise that indeed there is a need for that urgent intervention to Nigerians Nigerians need to feel the renewed hope agenda 75,000 Naira.”