Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has criticized the Federal Government's proposed cash transfer policy, labelling it a scam. Speaking in an interview with Arise Television's News Night, the governor expressed his skepticism about the effectiveness of cash transfers during these critical times. He argued that a significant percentage of the rural population in the North West is financially excluded, with no access to banking services, making it questionable who the money would actually reach.
Governor Sani, drawing on his experience as the Chairman of the Committee of Banking for four years in Nigeria, urged for more efforts to ensure financial inclusion for the vulnerable population. He called on development partners, specifically the World Bank, to allocate more funds to bring more people into the formal financial services system by helping them open bank accounts.
The proposed cash transfer policy by President Bola Tinubu's administration aimed to provide monthly N8,000 transfers to 12 million of the country's poorest households for six months to mitigate the impact of the fuel subsidy removal. However, the government faced public backlash and decided to review the plan.
Additionally, the Federal Government initiated a six-month cash award policy for public servants and considered integrity tests on state social registers for cash transfers, taking into account state-specific circumstances. They also requested states to focus on energy transition plans in the transport sector and distribute food items and fertilizers acquired from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to citizens.
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