On Thursday, the Federal Government announced that 25 million Nigerians have so far received the ₦25,000 conditional cash transfer.
The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, revealed this while briefing State House Correspondents shortly after the National Economic Council meeting, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
He outlined the steps taken by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to provide relief to Nigerians in response to the hardships resulting from subsidy removal and other policy reforms introduced by the government.
According to him, five million households have benefited from the direct cash transfer.
He also noted that, in the past five days, no fewer than 11,000 beneficiaries have received ₦3.5 billion through the consumer credit scheme.
Additionally, over ₦90 billion has been disbursed to half a million Nigerian students under the student loan programme.
Meanwhile, the government reported that at least 321 Nigerians have lost their lives in recent flooding that affected many states across the country.
This was discussed during the National Economic Council meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The fatalities were recorded across 34 states.
Following the meeting, Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, briefed correspondents, stating that over 1.2 million people were displaced by the floods, with more than one million houses affected.
Professor Soludo added that vast areas of farmland were destroyed in the disaster.
The NEC expressed deep sorrow over the incident and urged that measures be taken to alleviate the suffering of those affected.