A cash transfer program based on social registers has been proposed by Nigeria’s National Economic Council for the states of the nation.
The recommendation was made in response to the report of the Council’s ad hoc committee, which was established at its most recent meeting to investigate the palliatives that would be provided to disadvantaged Nigerians following the removal of the subsidy on fuel.
After the Council meeting, which was presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria briefed the media on the NEC’s proposal to give financial incentives to public employees for a period of six months.
“We proposed accordingly a cash transfer programme that would be based on their social register of the state because it is the states that are better positioned to to that enumeration to ensure the integrity of the social register of the state.
“It was also proposed by the Council that we should implement a cash award policy for all public servants; that is a policy that allows each sub-national to pay the public servant a certain prescribed amount of cash on a monthly basis.
“It was prescribed that that should be implemented for six months in the first instance. The idea is that as much as we are also particular about ameliorating the pains of our people immediately, a lot of sustainable measures are being put in place.
“It is our hope that between now and the next six months, those sustainable measures would have begun to be visible and then we will begin taper down these cash awards.”
Abiodun said that the cash awards would be tax free.
According to Governor Abiodun, other proposals made at the meeting included increased funding for small businesses, the immediate implement of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and the conversion of vehicles to be compressed natural gas compliant.