Prevalent poverty: Economists fault FG’s social security internet initiative, name for evaluation
Economists have urged the Federal Authorities to evaluation its Social Welfare Programmes, arguing that the extra funds are expended on the programme, the poorer Nigerians get.
Regardless of years of considerable authorities funding in social welfare initiatives, Nigeria continues to wrestle with entrenched and rising poverty.
A latest report by the World {Bank}, titled “The State of Social Security Nets in Nigeria” and issued in November 2025, has highlighted deep inefficiencies in how social advantages are distributed.
In accordance with the report, whereas 56 per cent of the beneficiaries of government-funded social safety-net programmes are categorised as poor, solely 44 per cent of the entire advantages really attain poor households.
In impact, greater than half of the sources supposed for the poorest Nigerians are both diverted or fail to ship significant help.
On the identical time, protection stays restricted.
Official information confirmed that the cash-transfer element of the Federal Authorities’s programmes reached some 32.21 million folks as of January 2025.
But, multitudes stay exterior the safety-net umbrella.
The World {Bank} has warned that Nigeria’s meagre social-protection spending, which is simply 0.14 per cent of the Gross Home Product, has had virtually no measurable impact on the nationwide poverty head-count.
“WHILE 56 PER CENT OF THE BENEFICIARIES OF GOVERNMENT‑FUNDED SOCIAL SAFETY‑NET PROGRAMMES ARE CLASSIFIED AS POOR, ONLY 44 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL BENEFITS ACTUALLY REACH POOR HOUSEHOLDS.”
This mixture of huge poverty, giant welfare spending and restricted outcomes raises a vital query: why does poverty persist even when billions of naira are channelled into welfare programmes?
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: THE ROAD FROM 2015
To know the basis of at present’s challenges, it’s helpful to journey again to 2015, when Nigeria laid the foundations of its trendy social-protection structure.
That yr, the Federal Authorities launched the Nationwide Social Funding Programmes (NSIP) with the target of decreasing poverty and vulnerability amongst kids, youth and girls.
The initiative included a number of pillars: the N-Energy Programme (youth job coaching and stipends), the Conditional Money Switch Programme (CCT) for poor households, the Authorities Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) providing micro-loans to petty merchants and artisans, and the Residence-Grown Faculty Feeding Programme (HGSFP), feeding primary-school kids.
Though earlier efforts such because the Nationwide Poverty Eradication Programme (established in 2001) existed, the NSIP marked the primary coordinated national-scale try to combine social help for susceptible segments and large-scale money transfers.
Partnerships with the World {Bank} backed these efforts.
As an illustration, in June 2016, the World {Bank} dedicated $500 million to Nigeria’s first nationwide safety-net venture through an Worldwide Growth Affiliation (IDA) credit score.
The initiative aimed to succeed in 5 million of the poorest and lay the foundations for a nationwide registry of poor households.
Over the subsequent years, the social-protection structure expanded.
By December 2021, one other World {Bank} credit score of $800 million, beneath the Nationwide Social Security Nets Programme – Scale-Up (NASSP-SU), was authorised to ship focused money transfers to eight.2 million poor and susceptible households by the Nationwide Social Register (NSR) and a Fast Response Registry for city areas.
The size-up mirrored the popularity of overlapping shocks, rising meals costs, the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, but in addition signalled the difficulties forward.
Regardless of these programmes, lots of the structural challenges reminiscent of fragmented implementation, weak information programs, and restricted budgetary dedication endured.
In Could 2025, Nigeria obtained a further $215 million from the World {Bank} beneath the safety-net credit score, bringing whole disbursements to about $530 million.
Whereas that injection underscores exterior confidence within the coverage framework, it additionally raises questions concerning the capability to translate money into sustainable poverty discount.
EXPERTS REVEAL “THE MECHANICS OF FAILURE”
What explains the hole between spending and outcomes?
The World {Bank}’s report emphasises a number of inter-linked points.
First is the matter of design and focusing on.
Growth economist, Dr Nduka Henry, stated many Nigerian welfare programmes allotted a hard and fast profit per family fairly than particular person, which means bigger, poorer households obtained much less per individual.
He famous that whereas 56 per cent of beneficiaries have been poor, they obtained solely 44 per cent of the advantages.
Furthermore, the arithmetic implies that poor households, usually bigger, are deprived by the uniform-benefit construction.
He stated spending at solely 0.14 per cent of GDP is way beneath regional benchmarks.
Such low ranges of financing severely constrain scale and depth of intervention.
When so little is offered relative to wish, even well-targeted transfers will wrestle to shift poverty outcomes.
He additionally famous that the programs meant to establish the poorest households stay weak.
Registers are outdated, digital platforms solely partly deployed, ghost beneficiaries persist, and a number of programmes overlap with out coordination.
This makes it simple for funds to leak, duplication to happen and monitoring to fail.
For instance, studies reveal weaknesses in procurement and {financial} administration linked to the social-safety-net programmes.
“The tragedy is that Nigeria’s poverty discount programmes have turn out to be extra of political patronage than devices of improvement,” he stated.
“They aren’t reaching the poor as a result of the system for figuring out and monitoring beneficiaries is basically flawed.”
On his half, a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Mike Onasanya, referred to as for a change within the implementation of welfare programmes.
He stated money transfers work when they’re well-targeted, well-sized, and tied into programs that confirm the poorest households.
He urged the Federal Authorities to shift the profit unit from family to particular person, hyperlink transfers to the Nationwide Identification Quantity (NIN) and {Bank} Verification Quantity (BVN), increase profit quantities to match price of residing, and absolutely combine registers throughout federal and state ranges.
“You can not spend your manner out of structural poverty,” he stated.
“Nigeria wants jobs, energy, infrastructure and better productiveness; in any other case transfers are mere reduction, not transformation.”
His level spotlights the necessity to hyperlink welfare interventions with {economic} empowerment reminiscent of coaching, micro-loans, agricultural inputs and public-works employment.
The Federal Authorities had just lately introduced plans to develop its direct money switch programme to succeed in extra poor and susceptible Nigerians.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economic system, Wale Edun, disclosed that the initiative at present helps over 15 million households nationwide.
He defined that whereas progress had been made in stabilising inflation and the alternate fee, extra efforts have been wanted to raise Nigerians out of poverty and make sure that residents really feel the affect of ongoing {economic} reforms.
In accordance with the minister, the money switch system is clear and accountable, with every beneficiary verifiable by digital data.
Edun famous that the federal government deliberate to develop the programme additional to succeed in further beneficiaries on the grassroots stage as a part of broader efforts to cushion the results of {economic} reforms.
He additionally revealed {that a} new ward-based improvement initiative was being launched to channel sources on to Nigeria’s 8,809 wards throughout the 774 native authorities areas.
MANY POOR CITIZENS LEFT OUT – STAKEHOLDERS
Stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Money Switch scheme have demanded better consciousness and transparency within the administration of the initiative.
They made this identified of their separate interviews with THE POINT.
One of many beneficiaries, Pastor Sesan Kuffo, requested the Federal Authorities to enhance the money switch scheme additional.
He stated the federal government ought to increase public consciousness, monitor disbursement of funds, and prioritise fairness and equity.
In accordance with him, this may result in better accountability and permit extra Nigerians to profit.
Responding to the issues, the Environmental and Social Safeguard Officer on the State Working Coordinating Unit, Okunola Omoniyi, stated many poor residents had been overlooked of the scheme.
He referred to as on the Federal Authorities to enhance disbursement processes to make them seamless and extra inclusive.
Omoniyi additionally urged the general public and susceptible {groups} to take part actively in data-collection workouts.
He stated group outreach programmes assist establish these in want and enrol them within the social registry.
The State Programme Officer of the New Initiative for Social Growth on Act Naija Challenge, Olaniyan Glory, additionally appealed to the general public to take part in registration processes for social safety programmes.
“WE HAVE DISCOVERED THAT MANY NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO GOT THE TRANSFER ALERTS ARE DEAD PEOPLE. WE ARE URGING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE THE BENEFICIARY LIST FOR TRANSPARENCY.”
She burdened that registration is the one approach to profit from authorities social interventions.
In the meantime, some residents of Ero Group in Ifedore Native Authorities Space of Ondo State raised issues over alleged irregularities within the collection of beneficiaries.
They claimed that names of deceased individuals appeared on beneficiary lists, whereas many residing residents who registered have been excluded.
Group leaders referred to as on the Federal Authorities to analyze the lists to make sure transparency.
When contacted, Joshua Olawole of the Nationwide Money Switch Workplace stated the scheme had been clear and had impacted thousands and thousands of lives.
He outlined numerous safety-net programmes and highlighted the position of the social register in figuring out susceptible people, together with the aged and individuals with disabilities.