Only 6% households benefited from Nigerian govt’s $5bn social welfare programs —NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that only 6.1 percent of the population interviewed for the Global MICS Programme survey is aware of and has received external economic support or social transfers from the Nigerian govt.

The survey carried out in 2021, shows that out of a total of 39,632 households that were interviewed, about 94 percent of households (37,214) have not received any form of social transfer.

According to the NBS, social transfers or external economic support are predictable direct transfers to individuals or households, both in-kind and cash (including cash for work and public work programs), aimed at protecting and preventing individuals and families from being affected by shock and supporting the accumulation of human, productive, and financial assets. This includes various social protection schemes.

A breakdown of the survey shows that Ogun (2.1 percent), Benue (2.7 percent), Lagos (3.2 percent), Oyo (3.2 percent), and Osun (3.3 percent) were the states least aware of and least likely to have received external economic support or social transfers, while Jigawa, Yobe, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, and Katsina, with 14.4 percent, 14.1 percent, 13.5 percent, 12.3 percent, and 10.9 percent, respectively, had the highest percentage of awareness and receipt of external economic support or social transfers.

Since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power in 2015, many social welfare intervention programs have been introduced under Nigeria’s National Social Investment Programme.

Some of the programs include the N-power conditional cash transfer, uplifting household programme, “BETA DON COME,” retirement pension, trader moni, farmer Moni, Survival Fund, Anchor Borrower, health insurance cards, or any other types of ad-hoc support, excluding transfers or assistance from family members, relatives, or neighbors.

TrackNews reported that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, said the aforementioned programs have cost over $5 billion since 2016 to fight poverty in the country.

Farouq said this during the weekend presentation of letters of engagement and electronic tablets to 248 monitors of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) in Adamawa State.

“I am happy to report to you that every year since 2016, when NSIP was flagged off, Mr. President has approved that $1bn be invested into that sector every year (which aggregated is over $5bn).”