The transfer of N20,000 by the federal government to poor households in the Kwali area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja has begun.
Sadia Umar-Farouk, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, on Wednesday, April 1, said that this is part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to help vulnerable Nigerians to cope with the lockdown order over coronavirus.
Umar-Farouk added that the disbursement of the funds will continue for four months starting from March, Channels TV reports.
The minister said: “We have directed immediate cash transfer to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country. “Because of this COVID-19, the vulnerable groups have to expand, because we are aware that there are people who live on daily wage…” Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the federal government had said that it would reach out to at least 11 million Nigerians with reliefs to cushion the discomforting effect of measures set in place to tackle the spread of coronavirus in the country.
The proposed move by the government was revealed on Tuesday, March 31, by Umar Farouk. Sadiya, speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, revealed that the federal government has a list of vulnerable persons who will be beneficiaries in the country and that such category of citizens belongs to about 2.6 million households. Also, Legit.ng reported that a group, Nigerians in Ireland (NIIRE) had called on President Buhari to lock down the country while there were still fewer cases of the dreaded coronavirus.
The group, in a statement signed by its coordinator, Dr. Oluseyi Aba, also urged the federal and state governments to ensure that Nigerians get paid some stipend to enable them to cope with whatever economic consequences the total lockdown may create for them while it lasted. Noting that a complete lockdown of the country will help curtail the spread of the virus, NIIRE stressed that the government at all levels must provide some economic relief for Nigerians.
The group further advised the government to either use the voter’s registration database for the distribution of the stipend or use the data provided by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
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