The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the revival of the suspended social investment program. This comes after a thorough review and audit conducted by a Special Presidential Panel led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
According to the announcement made during a ministerial sectoral briefing in Abuja, the revamped program aims to directly provide payments to 75 million Nigerians in 50 million households. The goal is to alleviate the suffering of citizens, especially vulnerable groups, in the face of the increased costs resulting from the government's macroeconomic reforms, including subsidy and foreign exchange market reforms.
"Mr. President is committed to counterbalancing the negative effects with interventions across society," stated Edun during the briefing. The social investment program, which was previously suspended for six weeks in January, has been revived with a focus on tackling fraud and improving the overall management and financial frameworks of the scheme.
The affected intervention programs, including N-Power, the conditional cash transfer scheme, the government enterprise and empowerment program, and the home-grown school feeding initiative, are set to be restarted under the new and improved guidelines.
In addition to the revived social investment program, the government has also allocated N1 billion to consumer credit and is providing grants of 50,000 Naira to 1 million nano-industries, further enhancing access to credit for individuals and businesses.
The announcement comes as part of President Bola Tinubu's broader efforts to stabilize the Nigerian economy and provide relief to the nation's citizens during these challenging times.