178,342 Jigawa households to benefit from N11.58bn federal grant

Nigeria’s federal government has released more than N11.58bn for the implementation of the Renewed Hope Social Security Grant in Jigawa state, targeting 178,342 beneficiaries.

The state commissioner for special duties and humanitarian affairs, Auwal Sanka, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the progress of the programme.

Sanka said the scheme initially identified 254,413 less privileged households before the number of beneficiaries was revised to 178,342 across the state’s 27 local government areas.

Implementation began in January, with 126,639 households receiving payments during the first phase, he said.

“We are currently in the second phase of the programme. A total of 25,300 payment cards are under distribution to registered beneficiaries, and we hope to complete this before the end of August,” Sanka said.

He said beneficiaries in the second phase would receive N1.9975bn in total, in line with the programme’s guidelines.

Sanka said President Bola Tinubu had increased the grant from N10,000 to N25,000 per payment cycle to reflect current economic conditions.

“The main objective of the Renewed Hope Social Security Grant is to support less privileged families in improving their livelihood and nutrition security,” he said.

The commissioner said the programme was also intended to stimulate local economies, with an estimated 99% of the grant expected to be spent within communities.

“If you inject such an amount of money into the local economy, it will have multidimensional positive impacts on rural and national productivity, thereby supporting GDP growth,” he said.

Sanka argued that increased household consumption would stimulate production, creating jobs and supporting wider economic growth.

“So this programme is not only humanitarian but also an economic strategy for egalitarian and sustainable development,” he said.

The commissioner praised the Jigawa governor, Umar Namadi, for supporting the programme and providing what he described as an enabling environment for its implementation.

He said feedback from communities suggested that the scheme was already improving the livelihoods of beneficiary families.

Sanka added that the state would continue to provide updates on the programme’s implementation to assist policymakers and the public in assessing its impact and planning future interventions.