The World Bank has reported that Nigeria’s cash-based social intervention programmes reached 67.19 million people and 10.44 million households by August 2026, even as questions over the identification and traceability of beneficiaries continue to trail the federal government’s cash transfer programme.
In its latest Implementation Status and Results Report on the National Social Safety Net Programme-Scale Up, World Bank said 10.43 million poor and vulnerable households had received economic shock-responsive cash transfers.
The report said more than 7.1 million households had received all three tranches of the transfer after undergoing biometric verification using their National Identification Numbers (NINs) or Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).
But the scale of the figures comes against continuing concerns over the ability to independently verify the beneficiaries and payments. Many Nigerians, including the opposition parties, have raised issues over the transparency of the programme.
For instance, Auditor General for the Federation’s office, in its 2024 annual report on non-compliance/internal control weaknesses, had questioned the documentation supporting N33.751 billion in electronic transfers to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries across 35 states in 2023.
The audit report said the payment vouchers did not contain full beneficiary details and that the Remita statement required to reconcile those who received the payments with persons listed on the national social register and national beneficiary register was not presented for examination.
The auditors consequently said they were unable to authenticate the payments or establish whether the beneficiaries who received the money were genuine.
Similarly, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recently questioned the difference between a 15-million-household figure announced by the presidency in July and the later government statement that more than 10 million households had received cash transfers.
Atiku also questioned the arithmetic surrounding the government’s disclosure that more than N600 billion had been disbursed, asking the government to provide a verifiable trail showing the households paid, the number of tranches received, failed transactions, and reversals.
Earlier, President Bola Tinubu suspended Betta Edu, after reports emerged that she had authorised the transfer of N585 million to a private account for payments to vulnerable groups.
But the latest World Bank report provided a fresh set of figures on the programme’s reach. It said the number of people covered by cash-based interventions rose from 60.09 million in May to 67.19 million in August 2026, exceeding the programme’s June 2027 closing target of 56 million.
Overall, women accounted for 39.77 million of those covered, while 12.32 million were youths, the report seen by THISDAY showed.
The World Bank said 57.6 per cent of primary beneficiaries were women, above the programme’s 45 per cent target, while 81 per cent of beneficiary households were in the bottom six income deciles.
The report also said 12.9 million households had been visited as part of the verification exercise, while more than 15.8 million NINs had been verified in the social registry. Of these, it stated that 10.95 million households had been verified using NINs and BVNs and integrated into the national benefit delivery management system.
According to the global lender, 98.9 per cent of beneficiary households received transfers within 10 days of the scheduled payment date, while beneficiary satisfaction stood at 87.7 per cent.
It said all transfers were being made directly into beneficiary-owned digital accounts backed by biometric identification.
The report stated, “The project has made significant progress in implementation and achieved all PDO (Project Development Objectives) targets. The economic shock-responsive cash transfers have reached 10.43 million poor and vulnerable households selected from the social registry.
“Over 7.1 million households have received all three tranches of support following biometric verification using the National Identification Number (NIN) or the Bank Verification Number. The progress on the rollout of the cash transfer support has been supported by the implementation of the NIN Drive, including the harvesting and verification of existing NINs, which has significantly increased.
“In collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission, over 12.9 million households have been visited, and more than 15.8 million NINs have been verified at the Social Registry, of which 10.95 million households have been NIN and BVN verified and integrated into the National Benefit Delivery Management System. Efforts have been intensified to cover the remaining households.”
However, the report acknowledged that the programme still faced implementation risks, with its overall risk rating retained at “substantial.” Political and governance, macroeconomic, technical-design, and fiduciary risks were all rated substantial.
The World Bank also said the modernised social registry was not yet operational as of August 2026, although it was expected to become operational by June 2027.
On financing, the report said the programme’s $800 million International Development Association (IDA) facility had been revised to $776.42 million, of which $762.43 million, representing 98.2 per cent, had been disbursed.
(FROM: THISDAY)
