The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has agreed with the World Bank to extend the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCT) by another two years.
Mr Apera Iorwa, the National Coordinator, National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, made this known on Thursday in Lagos.
This was during the World Bank Support Mission on Implementation of National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) and Engagement with Stakeholders in Lagos State.
Iorwa said that the CCT programme was designed to benefit poor and vulnerable households with a monthly stipend of N5,000.
He said that the programme was supposed to end on June 30, but had to be extended to accommodate more indigent households.
”Largely, it is first attributed to the success of the programme. We had a target of identifying four million households, today we have identified 11 million households, made up of about 46 million individuals, which is by far the most comprehensive database of individuals in our country.
”Secondly, the programme has been embraced by state governments, especially Lagos State, which has not only embraced the programme, but has established it as a department.
”Now, this has created some level of confidence and belief in the capacity of the programme. The federal government approached the World Bank because of the economic shocks occasioned by the rising cost of living, high rates of inflation to expand this cash transfer.
”It was expanded from two million to 10.2 million, that’s additional 8.2 million in families, for Lagos state, we are expanding it from only 10,000 to 295,000 poor and vulnerable households,” the national coordinator said.
