FG Distributes N10bn to 300,000 Poor Nigerians

• Doles out N43.5m grant to 121 innovators
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja with agency
The federal government has since 2016  disbursed N10 billion to no fewer than 300,000 beneficiaries through its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme.

This is as the federal government yesterday awarded a grant of N43,500,000, to 121 Nigerians in the informal sector who have distinguished themselves in creativity, inventiveness and innovations.

The National Programme Coordinator of the CCT, Temitope Sinkaye, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the National Cash Transfer Programme Mid-year Review in Ilorin yesterday.

She said that the programme started in 2016 with eight pilot states that met the condition set by the federal government.
The condition, Sinkaye explained, was just for states to provide offices, personnel and equipment for the take off of the programme.
“All states are eligible to participate in the programme but upon fulfilling some conditions.

“So currently, we have only 20 states that have fulfilled the conditions.
“As at 2016  when we started the programme, only eight states met the condition and as at today, we have 20 states and we are still counting.

“The condition is that states will provide the programme with office, staff and equipment while the federal government takes it up from there.
“Once the state is done with that, the federal government takes up from there and train the personnel on what the programme is all about,’’ she said.

On the modality for selection of beneficiaries, the national coordinator said that they were selected through a process known as “community based targeting.’’