The Federal Government has said about 15 million vulnerable households have been captured in its Benefit Register for conditional cash assistance under a social protection programme being implemented in partnership with the World Bank to cushion the impact of economic shocks.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television on Friday.
He explained that although the National Social Register currently contains about 17.9 million vulnerable households nationwide, not all those listed qualify for direct financial support.
According to the minister, the Benefit Register—drawn from the broader database—specifically targets households most affected by economic hardship under the conditional cash transfer scheme.
“We are currently offering conditional cash assistance in conjunction with the World Bank as a shock-response measure. Not everyone within the 17.9 million households in the register is eligible for this intervention. The Benefit Register contains about 15 million vulnerable households,” he said.
Doro noted that the National Social Register represents approximately 70 million individuals identified through community-based assessments and socio-economic data collection across the country.
He stressed that while the broader register serves as a national database of vulnerable populations, beneficiaries for specific programmes are selected separately based on clearly defined intervention criteria.
The minister described the cash support initiative as a temporary relief measure designed to mitigate the effects of economic pressures on the poorest households, rather than a universal benefit scheme.
He further explained that the identification process relies heavily on community participation, with local stakeholders helping to determine vulnerable individuals based on set poverty indicators, which are subsequently verified through household assessments and data validation.
“Communities guide the process using established criteria to identify the poorest among them. We also conduct physical verification, including home visits and personal data checks, to ensure accurate targeting,” he said.
Doro clarified that inclusion in the National Social Register does not automatically guarantee financial assistance, emphasising that the Benefit Register is programme-specific and used to determine eligibility for targeted interventions.
He added that the government would continue expanding the National Social Register to capture more vulnerable Nigerians while ensuring that social protection programmes remain focused on those most affected by poverty and economic shocks.
