Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

Nentawe Yilwatda, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, has revealed that the Federal Government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme has reached 6 million Nigerians in six months.

He also announced plans to include an additional nine million beneficiaries by October 2025, bringing the total to 15 million Nigerian households.

Yilwatda disclosed this on Thursday, May 22, while addressing beneficiaries of the Skills-to-Wealth (S2W) Training programme in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

He said:

"Previously, only two million people benefited from the Conditional Cash Transfer programme over a span of nine years, averaging just 200,000 beneficiaries per year.

"We are now working to digitise all households on the social register by assigning digital identities, creating e-wallet accounts and conducting physical verification to ensure accuracy and transparency."

The minister attributed the sharp increase to a newly adopted approach by the ministry, which includes digital reforms and stricter verification processes.

Yilwatda added:

““In six months, we have reached out to six million people; it simply means that we are doing one million people per month."

"The President has directed that we should ensure that that money reached these people in 9 months.”

According to the minister, several unverifiable names have been removed from the social register due to errors or a lack of traceable identity, the Nation reports.

The Conditional Cash Transfer programme is a key part of Nigeria’s effort to reduce poverty by providing direct financial support to the most vulnerable households.

To enhance credibility and transparency, Yilwatda said the ministry engaged the World Bank to conduct an independent audit of the disbursements.

According to the minister, several unverifiable names have been removed from the social register due to errors or a lack of traceable identity.

He said:

“After we delivered to the first four million people, I asked the World Bank to set up an independent team to do a verification of these people we are paying.”

The verification team, he noted, confirmed that 96% of beneficiaries were real individuals listed in the social register and visited in person.

The remaining 4% could not be verified due to migration or residence in hard-to-reach areas caused by insecurity.

World Bank had approved an $800 million loan for the scheme, out of which $350 million was disbursed as of April 30, 2025.

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Beauty Hut Africa, in collaboration with Paystack, has launched an exciting opportunity for female entrepreneurs in the beauty business in Nigeria.

The two companies are want to support women-led beauty businesses with a grant of up to N5 million to grow their business.

Beyond financial support, participants will gain access to mentorship sessions.

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Source: Legit.ng