FG TO FAST-TRACK CASH TRANSFERS TO 15M HOUSEHOLDS 07-05-25
By Sadiq Aminu The Federal Government has commenced the implementation phase of its economic and financial inclusion strategy aimed at improving access to economic opportunities for Nigerians.
To this end, the government has established an inter-agency task force to address challenges delaying President Bola Tinubu’s approved conditional cash transfers to 15 million vulnerable households.
At the inaugural meeting of the Technical Committee of the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia explained that the meeting brought together high-level stakeholders from government agencies, financial institutions, and academia to align on the President’s vision and execution roadmap.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha in a statement, noted that, the committee’s Secretary, Dr Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, who also serves as the Technical Advisor to the President on Financial Inclusion, said the meeting also approved PreCEFI’s strategic roadmap and governance structure.
“An inter-agency committee has been established to address delays in the disbursement of conditional cash transfers to 15 million households as mandated by President Tinubu,” Dr. Zauro said..
The inter-agency task force includes the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
Their goal is to unlock bottlenecks and fast-track the distribution of critical financial support to Nigeria’s most vulnerable.
The meeting also endorsed steps to work with state governments in localising data from the EFInA Access to Financial Services survey – a biennial study conducted by the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) in Nigeria.
“We will be presenting the report to the National Economic Council and the Nigerian Governors Forum to ensure data is domesticated and acted upon at the subnational level,” Dr Zauro said.
On her part, Director of Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion at the CBN, Dr Aisha Isa-Olatinwo, urged the committee to focus on implementable outcomes that serve those at the base of the pyramid, adding that “Financial inclusion is one of the eight reform pillars of the President’s agenda.”
Other members of the committee present at the meeting included the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the Bank of Industry (BOI), Gates Foundation, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU Zaria), the Egbaraden Traditional Council, IQS Africa, and Google.