The World Bank has disclosed that the number of Nigerians benefiting from the Federal Government’s cash transfer programme under the National Social Safety Net Program-Scale Up (NASSP-SU) has risen to 32.21 million as of January 2025.
This was contained in the recently released World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report.
According to the report, the cash transfer initiative, aimed at supporting poor and vulnerable households, has continued to expand despite initial implementation delays, covering over 5 million households in the country.
The programme, implemented by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, is designed to provide financial relief to low-income households while strengthening Nigeria’s social safety net system.
“The direct benefit transfer program to date has supported over 5 million households. Following the CBN circular of December 2023, mandating the use of NIN or BVN to operate an account after March 2024, and the recommendation from the presidential panel, all transfers since March 2024 are made to beneficiaries whose NIN or BVN have been verified. About 1.4 million households, part of the total 5 million, have received a second and third tranche of support,” the report read.
The details of the report also showed that the total number of social safety net beneficiaries grew from 30.35 million in June 2024 to 32.21 million in January 2025, with 28.55 million being female.
It also indicated that the number of households receiving cash transfers under the Economic Shock Responsive Cash Transfer (ESR-CT) component increased to 5.39 million, while beneficiaries of the Extended Regular Cash Transfer (ER-CT) reached 1.51 million.
The report also noted that as part of efforts to improve transparency, all cash transfers are now digitally processed through verified National Identification Numbers (NIN) or Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
The report highlighted a targeted NIN registration drive undertaken by the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) in collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), an initiative that aims to validate existing social register entries and ensure all new recipients have a verified identity before receiving payments.
To scale up cash transfers, NASSCO has been licensed as a front-end enrollment partner for NIN registrations. This effort is expected to increase the number of verified households in the direct benefit transfer programme, ensuring a more secure and efficient distribution process.
Additionally, the report notes that cash transfers since March 2024 have been strictly limited to recipients with verified NINs or BVNs, following a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This move aims to prevent fraud and enhance the integrity of the programme.
The World Bank report maintained a “Moderately Satisfactory” rating for both the programme’s overall implementation and its progress toward achieving its objectives.
