Face of change: poorest Nigerians to receive 5,000 monthly soon

The vice president, Yemi Osinbajo has said that in line with a campaign promise made by Muhammadu Buhari, government has set in motion plans to pay N5,000 each to the poorest Nigerians across the country monthly.


Osinbajo stated that the government are “currently evaluating the best ways to collapse existing cash transfer and social welfare schemes to ensure consistency and alignment.

“Once this is completed, we will implement the first phase of this programme, using recognised identification platforms and transparent payment solutions”, he added.

Osinbajo (SAN) disclosed this at the 10th Anniversary Lecture of Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State entitled, ‘The Nigerian Economy and the Future’.

On the pervasive poverty ravaging the country, Osinbajo said the payment of N5,000 each to poor Nigerians was necessary because “we cannot talk about the economy of the future without addressing how we move people out of poverty.

“One of the most striking promises we made during the campaign was the payment of N5,000 to the poorest Nigerians across the country”, he noted, even as he regretted that today, “about 112 million (66% of Nigerians) are deemed extremely poor, measured by the World Bank parameter of those living on less than US$1.25 per day.”

The vice president observed that the level of poverty explains much of the Nigerian situation because it affects all aspects of life, including why over a million Nigerians die yearly of preventable diseases.

He lamented that while many public servants are being owed arrears of salaries across the country, many traders are experiencing a downturn in sales.