COVID-19: We’ve Commenced Cash Transfer To Poorest Households – Says FG

Federal Government of Nigeria in a statement made available to newsmen disclosed that it has started disbursement of funds to the poorest household in the country to sustain them at this time of the global pandemic.

The development was disclosed in at a press conference in Federal Capital of Nigeria by Minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Sadiya Farouq, Naija News learnt

Sadiya, however, did not reveal the exact amount dispensed to the poorest households as claimed but she noted that her ministry has commenced the advance payment to as a support on the stay-at-home order issued by the federal government.

She said, “In Mr. President’s speech, paragraph 54, he directed that the conditional cash transfer should be given in advance of two months. This we have also done. We have directed immediate cash transfer to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country.

Naija News recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday while addressing Nigerians on a live broadcast ordered the payment of ₦5,000 stipend to vulnerable citizens across the country for two months with immediate effect.

“Because of this COVID-19, the vulnerable groups have to expanded, because we are aware that there are people who live on daily wage, so we are also going to look at those groups of people to see how we can get this food relief intervention to them in this period,” Sadiya added.

Meanwhile, the National Leader of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC)  Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to print more naira notes to save the Nigerian economy amidst the adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and crash in crude oil prices globally.