January 27, (THEWILL) – Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, has raised concerns over alleged pressure from politicians seeking to compromise the Federal Government’s social register meant for distributing conditional cash transfers.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Yilwatda revealed that some politicians are pushing for governors and states to directly generate the beneficiary list, a move he strongly opposes.
“Some people want us to bend and allow the governors or the states to just generate the list and send,” Yilwatda said, emphasising that the programme would not bow to political influences.
The Federal Government recently approved a N4 billion allocation for conditional cash transfers to 10 million displaced households in the country. The cash transfer programme is set to commence in February and run through April.
While 19.8 million poor Nigerians are listed on the social register, Yilwatda disclosed that only 1.2 million identities have been validated so far.
He stressed the importance of National Identification Numbers and Bank Verification Numbers as mandatory requirements for digital transfers to ensure transparency and accountability.
The minister said, “It’s a conditional transfer; conditions are attached to qualifying to benefit from the social safety net.
“We will not bend to allowing any political affiliation or attachment to this conditional cash transfer. Poverty doesn’t know political party, tribe, or even the grammar we are speaking. A poor person is a poor person.”
To bolster transparency, Yilwatda stated that Civil Society Organisations are being integrated into the process to verify payments, conduct follow-ups, and ensure accountability.
“Currently, we have 19.8 million people on the social register, but you need to validate that list. For now, only about 1.2 million people have been validated. We must authenticate their locations, homes, and verify their poverty status using social indices such as access to water, healthcare, education, and economic facilities,” he explained.
Yilwatda assured Nigerians that the process would remain strictly digital to avoid interference and manipulation.
He also noted that beneficiaries’ locations would be GPS-mapped to verify their claims and ensure that only the most vulnerable in society receive the benefits.
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