TheCable

The National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) says over 1.5 million citizens have received a N25,000 stipend under the conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, Halima Shehu, NSIPA CEO, said the agency’s target is to reach 15 million citizens.

The beneficiaries, she said, would receive the stipend for three months.

Shehu said the programmes of Trader Moni, Farmers Moni and Market Moni under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) have been relaunched, and disbursement will begin in January 2024.

“Under my watch, we have successfully kick-started the conditional cash transfer programme founded by the World Bank with a twenty thousand naira (N25,000) monthly stipend for three months. We are targeting 15 million households. So far, over one million five hundred thousand (N1,500,000) beneficiaries have received this stipend,” she said.

“We have flagged off the grants for vulnerable groups in Kogi with a twenty thousand naira one-off grant that targets the higher percentage of persons living with disabilities. Both grants are to smooth consumption and cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.

“The government is working towards an exit strategy for the existing N-Power beneficiaries, and as soon as that is done, a portal for the enrolment of Batch D will be introduced capturing the different components of N-Power such as N-Tech, N-Creative, N-Teach, N-Knowledge, N-Skills, N-Agro and N-Build.

“There is no doubt that any agency saddled with the responsibility to impact the lives of millions of poor and vulnerable Nigerians becomes the human face of any administration.”

The CEO said the agency is working to surpass the expectations of the president.