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Over 1m Nigerians Receive N5,000 Cash Monthly, 10m Pupils Fed Daily – FG

Published

3 years ago

March 2, 2023

The Federal Government declared on Thursday that 1,940,004 vulnerable Nigerians were currently receiving N5,000 cash gifts every month.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Farouq, said this at a One-Day Stakeholders’ Retreat On National Social Investment (Establishment) Bill organised by the Senate Committee on Social Duties.

Farouq was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Nasir Gwarzo.

The minister explained that the objective of the National Social Investment Programme Establishment Bill was to provide a statutory and institutional framework for the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme.

She noted that the NSIP was created in 2016 by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to address social and economic inequalities and alleviate poverty among Nigerians.

According to her, there are four social support programmes that are meant to empower the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians to enable them to attain an acceptable standard of living.

She said the NSIP was directly and indirectly impacting the lives of poor Nigerians through its four cluster programmes .

These, she said, included the N-Power Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, and the Conditioner Cash Transfer Programme.

The programmes, she added, were designed to serve as various forms of social safety nets specifically targeting those at the bottom of the social ladder who require some form of assistance to enable them to become productive members of society and prevent more people from falling below poverty line.

She said, “A wide range of Sustainable Development Goals including poverty reduction, education, health, social inclusion and empowerment can be achieved through the NSIP.

“Section 17(3) of the constitution provides that the State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that all its citizens without discrimination have the opportunity of securing adequate means of livelihood and ensuring provision is made for public assistance in deserving cases of need among others.

“Contributory social protection schemes such as Social insurance, health insurance, and the pension scheme are all backed by legislation. The laws are, The Nigeria Social insurance Trust Fund Act, the National Health Insurance Authority Act, and the Pension Reform Act.

“The NSIP, which is a non-contributory social protection scheme is not backed by any law and this underscores the need for it to also have a piece of legislation.

“Since the inception of the NSIP in 2015, one million youths have been empowered through the N-Power Programme and additional 500,000 others are currently undergoing various training under the programme as approved by the President.”

She noted that the cash transfer has enrolled 1,975, 381 poor and vulnerable households from the National Social Register into a National Beneficiary Register across the country.

She added that the Cash Transfer supports the poor and vulnerable to improve consumption and develop savings skills to reduce poverty and build their resilience to withstand shocks.

“A total of 1, 940, 004 beneficiaries are currently receiving cash transfers each month.

“Public Primary Schools across the country have witnessed an unprecedented number of new enrollments as a result of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

“The programme is currently feeding 10 million pupils in over 66, 000 public schools across Nigeria. The programme is gradually reducing cases of out-of-school children nationwide,” she added.

According to her, 2,653,333 beneficiaries have accessed the GEEP loans under three categories including Trader Moni, Market Moni and Farmer Moni.

“A total of 1, 142, 783 individuals across the country have registered to benefit from the second round of GEEP under the three loan programmes”

The Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Yusuf Yusuf, explained that the retreat was aimed at bringing together critical stakeholders from the executive arm of government to be at par with the legislature on the proposed legislation.

Yusuf said, “Information is a very important tool for legislation. Since the government policy emanates from legislation, we invited critical stakeholders from the ministry and other agencies so that they can furnish the committee with vital information that would enable them to come up with a robust legislation for the NSIP establishment.”

PUNCH

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Meta Suspends Activists For Showing Election Killings

Published

1 day ago

December 5, 2025

Editor

Meta suspended the Instagram accounts of two Tanzanian activists on Thursday after they posted images of the violent crackdown by security forces on election protests, which authorities have tried to suppress.

Tanzania descended into violence on October 29, the day of elections deemed fraudulent by international observers.

More than 1,000 people were shot dead by security forces over several days of unrest, according to the opposition and rights groups, though the government has yet to give a final toll.

Mange Kimambi, who has more than 2.5 million Instagram followers, had been posting hundreds of photos of the dead and wounded since early November, sent to her by Tanzanians via WhatsApp, she told AFP last month from the United States.

Not all the images have been verified, but AFP fact checkers and other media and investigative sites have found many are real.

On Thursday, Kimambi, in a letter to US President Donald Trump published on X, complained that her Instagram accounts and WhatsApp number had been “deactivated after I raised awareness about a series of severe abuses and horrific events occurring in Tanzania”, including “kidnappings, killings and imprisonment of opposition leaders on fabricated treason charges”.

Another prominent Tanzanian activist, Maria Sarungi Tsehai, who lives in exile, also had her Instagram account suspended, though only within Tanzania.

“Check out @Meta @instagram and their role in enabling the cover up of #TanzaniaMassacre by restricting and deleting our Instagram and Whatsapp accounts,” Tsehai posted on X.

“This is a direct attack on human rights defenders! We work to save lives by whistleblowing about abductions, corruption and killings,” she added.

Contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for Meta justified the action against Kimambi in the name of its “policy against recidivism”, implying she had created new accounts after others were suspended.

The action against Tsehai was a response to “a legal order from Tanzanian regulators”, the spokesperson said.

“If we are unable to provide our services there, millions of people will be deprived of connecting with family and friends,” Meta added.

In early November, Tanzania’s attorney general, Hamza Johari, called for Kimambi to be arrested and threatened to try to have her extradited from the United States, where she lives.

Headline

Why Europe Is Blocking More Nigerian Goods At Its Borders

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s exports continue to face repeated rejection in European Union markets, a challenge caused by consistent quality failures, weak regulatory enforcement, and heavy dependence on raw commodities.

New trade figures further show that while export values expressed in naira have risen sharply, dollar earnings have continued to decline, undermining Nigeria’s competitiveness abroad.

Meanwhile, South Africa remains one of the African countries with the highest rate of export acceptance in Nigeria and the EU, highlighting the gaps between both economies’ standards and certification systems.

According to data from International Trade Centre (ITC) , Nigeria’s export earnings fell for a second consecutive year in 2024, dropping by 8.5% to $57.9 billion.

The figure had already declined from $63.3 billion in 2022 to $60.65 billion in 2023. In naira terms, however, total exports rose from ₦26.8 trillion in 2022 to ₦36 trillion in 2023 and surged to ₦77.4 trillion in 2024.

These increases reflect the naira’s steep depreciation, not an improvement in the volume or acceptance of Nigerian goods overseas.

Intelpoint data show that the naira weakened from ₦645.2 to the dollar at the end of 2023 to ₦1,478.9 in 2024, marking the sharpest yearly decline in a decade.

EU border agencies have repeatedly rejected Nigerian agricultural and manufactured goods for failing to meet essential sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

Frequent violations include excessive pesticide residue, poor traceability, contamination detected during inspection, and inconsistencies in certification documentation issued in Nigeria.

These failures stem largely from fragmented supply chains, weak monitoring capacity and a lack of internationally accredited laboratories.

South Africa, Morocco and Kenya maintain far stronger conformity systems, and South Africa in particular consistently delivers some of the highest acceptance rates across EU ports.

The ITC figures show that oil remains the backbone of Nigeria’s exports, contributing nearly 90 per cent of total earnings between 2022 and 2024. Over that period, the country earned $163.2 billion from crude oil out of total export revenues of $181.8 billion.

Despite this dominance, oil earnings have continued to fall, declining from $57.4 billion in 2022 to $55.6 billion in 2023 and then to $50.3 billion in 2024.

Because crude prices are determined externally and the product is exported with limited value addition, Nigeria gains little competitive advantage from currency depreciation.

Non-oil exports recorded mixed fortunes. Cocoa earnings rose from $679 million in 2022 to $759 million in 2023 and climbed sharply to $2.6 billion in 2024.

Fertiliser exports fell from $1.9 billion in 2022 to $935.4 million in 2024. Ores and residues, however, increased from $158.6 million in 2023 to $824.4 million in 2024.

Despite positive growth in some sectors, quality problems have continued to undermine acceptance in Europe, particularly for foods such as beans, palm oil and processed crops.

Nigeria recorded stronger performance in African markets in 2024 due to the relative strength of the West African CFA franc.

Companies such as Unilever Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and Guinness Nigeria reported export sales of ₦22.8 billion in 2024, up from ₦9.92 billion in the preceding year. EU markets, however, maintain stricter inspection standards, and Nigeria’s structural weaknesses continue to limit penetration.

The country’s export structure remains heavily constrained by outdated processing technology, weak inspection capacity, irregular regulatory monitoring, and an overreliance on raw commodities.

Also, pipeline vandalism and crude theft also prevent Nigeria from meeting its production benchmark of 1.7 million barrels per day, despite a rise to 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024.

In December 2023, the Federal Government introduced the Trade Policy of Nigeria (2023–2027), aimed at aligning export regulations with World Trade Organisation rules and boosting global competitiveness.

The policy forms part of a wider reform agenda tied to the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025) and Agenda 2050.

Despite these initiatives, limited investment in quality assurance, industrial processing and standards enforcement continues to weaken Nigeria’s acceptance in high-value markets such as the EU.

Headline

US Imposes Visa Restrictions On Nigerians Linked To Religious Freedom Violations

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The United States government on Wednesday announced visa restrictions targeting individuals involved in violations of religious freedom in Nigeria. The measures may also extend to immediate family members of the affected persons.

In a statement titled “Combating Egregious Anti-Christian Violence in Nigeria and Globally”, the Department of State said the restrictions were being implemented in response to mass killings and attacks on Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and elsewhere.

The statement explained that under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the State Department would now have the authority to deny visas to those who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” with the policy potentially extending to their immediate family members.

It further cited former President Donald Trump’s remarks, noting that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.” The policy will apply to Nigeria and other governments or individuals implicated in violations of religious freedom.

The announcement follows growing international concern over attacks on religious communities in Nigeria, including targeted killings, abductions, and destruction of property attributed to armed groups.