Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has announced plans to disburse N54.9 billion to 2,196,474 households across the country this August 2025 under the National Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, CCT.
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, disclosed this during a courtesy visit by the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, led by Director General Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, at his office in Abuja.
According to him, the new disbursement is part of the government’s efforts to cushion the effect of economic reforms and rising poverty.
He revealed that over N419 billion has already been disbursed to 5,913,286 households under the CCT scheme.
“The disbursement is unbiased and based on data that are verifiable,” Dr. Sununu said, stressing that the programme remains a key tool for reaching vulnerable Nigerians.
The Minister also announced plans to support smallholder farmers with interest-free loans through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, GEEP.
“The Federal Government has commenced preparation to provide N300,000 to 21,000 smallholder farmers for dry season farming as a collateral and interest-free loan,” he stated.
He explained that the intervention aims to mitigate the impact of flooding on rainy season farming, strengthen food security, and contribute to poverty reduction nationwide.
Dr. Sununu highlighted global funding pressures affecting social support systems, noting that Nigeria is not insulated.
“Globally, the economy is declining. There are increases in both natural and manmade disasters. The world is also witnessing foreign aid cuts and there are funding gaps of $36 billion. Nigeria is affected too,” he said.
He warned that the World Food Programme has given notice of suspending its Emergency Food Transfer programme, which assists 1.3 million Nigerians and supports over 300,000 children in clinics in the North East.
“These are funding gaps running into hundreds of millions of naira. We must have strong safety nets to cushion the effect of reforms to stabilize the economy,” the Minister emphasised.
Earlier, Prince Adeyemi, Director General of the Council, said the delegation’s visit was to introduce members and notify the Ministry of the forthcoming World Investment Summit scheduled for November 17–21, 2025.
He explained that the Summit, to be hosted in Nigeria for the next five years, seeks to attract significant Foreign Direct Investment.
“The goal of the Summit is to attract more foreign direct investment to the country. The Council was established by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to advise on strategic policy and bring foreign intervention to cushion the effect of the economy on the country,” Adeyemi stated.
Dr. Sununu assured that the Ministry would actively participate in the Summit as part of efforts to expand Nigeria’s investment drive and reinforce its social protection architecture.
