102,650 persons to get FG cash transfer in Edo
Edo State Government has said that 102,650 persons in 1,969 communities across the 18 local government areas will benefit from the second phase of Renewed Hope Cash Transfer of the Federal Government.
General Manager, Social Investment Programme in the state, Yuwa Aladeselu, disclosed this at a one-day refresher training of local government cash transfer facilitators in Benin City on Wednesday.
Aladeselu said the Renewed Hope Cash Transfer of the Federal Government is under the National Social Safety Nets Project Scale Up.
The Edo State SIP boss, who said the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki is interested in any intervention that would help or provide succour for the poor and vulnerable noted that the State has a Social Register of over 1.6m persons.
She added that about 314,000 households were captured in the register which also include persons living with disability and among others.
In her remarks, the Head of Unit, Edo State Cash Transfer Unit, Flora Bossey, said over 12,108 beneficiaries were enrolled and paid during the first phase of the implementation of the programme in the state in 2022.
Bossey disclosed that 40,647 beneficiaries have been paid N25,000 across the 18 local government areas in the state including those who have bank accounts that were drawn from both the National Social Register and Rapid Response Register.
She said the cash transfer is in line with the vision of the Federal Government to provide 15m poor and vulnerable Nigerians under the Expanded National Social Safety Nets Programme Scale-Up.
She added that the Expanded National Social Safety Nets Programme Scale-Up was designed to support new beneficiaries for Economic Shock Response Cash Transfers in Urban areas.
Bossey also said that the programme includes Extended Regular Cash Transfers in rural areas across the country as well as transfers to existing beneficiaries that were yet to reach 12 cycles of payment to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
On his part, the Enrolment Officer/ Beneficiaries Management Officer of the National Cash Transfer Office, Mohammed Adams, said the training was to ensure that the facilitators find the biodata of a total of 101,404 persons who do not have valid bank accounts and enrol them to receive the renewed hope cash transfer.
“All beneficiaries will receive their funds directly through interoperable transactional accounts/wallets thus leading to significant financial inclusion of the beneficiaries.
“We all know that times are hard, this intervention is to deliver support to those who need it most”, he said.
He, however, enjoined the facilitators to do their best to find the beneficiaries and capture them for the programme, noting that no one should be left behind.
