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FG Targets 15 Million Households for Cash Support — Relief for the Poor or Another Multi-Billion Naira Pipeline for the Powerful?The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced yet another massive cash transfer scheme, promising to support 15 million “vulnerable households” through conditional payments drawn from its so-called Benefit Register.On paper, it sounds like compassion.In reality, many Nigerians are asking a harder, more uncomfortable question:Is this truly poverty relief — or simply another well-packaged avenue to quietly move billions of naira out of public sight? 15 Million Households = Trillions of Naira in Public Funds.
Let’s break it down. If each household receives just ₦25,000 monthly, that translates to: ₦375 billion per month. ₦4.5 trillion per year. That is not small money. That is a budget large enough to build industries, fix power, or create jobs. Instead, it is being handed out in cash — through a system many Nigerians neither understand nor trust. And the biggest concern remains: Who exactly controls the list?
The “Benefit Register”: A Secret List Nigerians Cannot See. The government claims beneficiaries are selected from the National Social Register — a database of supposedly poor households. But here’s the problem: Most poor Nigerians have never heard of this register. Millions don’t know how to get on it. There is no public access to verify names. There is zero transparency on who qualifies and who doesn’t. This creates the perfect environment for manipulation. Because when nobody can see the list, anybody can be on the list — including ghost names.
Nigerians Still Remember Previous Cash Transfer Scandals: Public trust in government cash programs is already dangerously low. In recent years, social intervention schemes have been surrounded by controversy, including the suspension of Betta Edu, Nigeria’s former humanitarian minister, over alleged financial misconduct involving public funds meant for vulnerable citizens. That scandal exposed something Nigerians had long suspected:Money meant for the poor can easily disappear before it reaches them.No electricity improved. No jobs created.No poverty eliminated.Just announcements — and vanished billions.
Cash Transfers Don’t Fix a Broken Economy: Let’s be honest. If Nigeria truly had trillions of naira available to fight poverty, Nigerians would expect to see: Stable electricity, Affordable food prices, Functional industries, Job opportunities; Instead, citizens are being offered temporary handouts while inflation continues to destroy purchasing power.Many see this as a cycle:Announce massive intervention → allocate huge funds → distribute quietly → poverty remains unchanged → repeat.
The Bigger Fear: Poverty Has Become a Business Model: There is growing anger that poverty itself has become an industry — one that attracts budgets, donor funds, and political attention, but never actually disappears.Because if poverty ends, the funding stops.And if the funding stops, so do the opportunities for financial leakage.This is why many Nigerians are demanding answers:Who audits the payments?Who monitors the register?Who confirms the money reaches real humans?Who is held accountable when funds disappear?Without answers, this program risks being seen not as relief — but as another elite-controlled pipeline funded by taxpayers.
Nigerians Deserve More Than Cash — They Deserve Accountability, Cash transfers may provide short-term relief, but Nigerians are no longer satisfied with survival-level solutions while trillions move through opaque systems. What citizens want is simple:Jobs, not handouts, Transparency, not secrecy, Opportunity, not dependency, Accountability, not announcements.
Until Nigerians can clearly see where the money is going — and who is receiving it — skepticism will remain justified.Because in a country where billions have disappeared before, promises alone are no longer enough.This time, Nigerians are watching. Closely.
