The World Bank says Nigeria’s cash-based social intervention programmes have reached 67.19 million people and 10.44 million households as of August 2026, while concerns over beneficiary identification and payment verification persist.
According to the latest Implementation status and results report released Monday on the National Social Safety Net Programme-Scale Up, 10.43 million poor and vulnerable households had received economic shock-responsive cash transfers.
Key Highlights
- The World Bank says 67.19 million people and 10.44 million households have been reached by Nigeria’s cash transfer programmes as of August 2026.
- More than 7.1 million households have received all three tranches after biometric verification via NIN or BVN.
- The Auditor-General for the Federation questioned documentation for ₦33.751 billion in transfers to 3.3 million households in 2023.
- Atiku Abubakar has questioned discrepancies between a 15 million-household figure and the government’s later 10 million-household disclosure.
- Coverage rose from 60.09 million people in May to 67.19 million in August, surpassing the programme’s June 2027 target of 56 million.
- The World Bank retained the programme’s overall risk rating at “substantial.”
- 98.2 per cent of the programme’s $776.42 million IDA facility has been disbursed.
The report said more than 7.1 million households have received all three tranches of the intervention after undergoing biometric verification through their National Identification Numbers (NIN) or Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
Transparency Questions Persist
The reported reach, however, comes amid questions from auditors, opposition figures and other stakeholders over the transparency and traceability of the programme.
The auditor-general for the federation’s 2024 report on non-compliance and internal control weaknesses has questioned documentation supporting ₦33.751 billion in electronic transfers to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries across 35 states in 2023.
The auditors said payment vouchers did not contain complete beneficiary details, while the Remita statement required to reconcile recipients with names on the national social register and national beneficiary register was not presented for examination.
Consequently, the auditors said they could not authenticate the payments or establish whether the recipients were genuine beneficiaries.
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Atiku Questions the Numbers
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also recently questioned the difference between a 15 million-household figure announced by the Presidency in July and the subsequent government disclosure that more than 10 million households had received cash transfers.
Atiku further called for a verifiable trail showing households that received payments, the number of tranches paid, failed transactions and reversals.
World Bank Reports Expanded Coverage
The World Bank report, however, showed a significant increase in the programme’s reported coverage, rising from 60.09 million people in May to 67.19 million in August.
The figure surpassed the programme’s June 2027 target of reaching 56 million people.
Women accounted for 39.77 million of those covered, while 12.32 million were youths, according to the report.
The World Bank said women represented 57.6 per cent of primary beneficiaries, exceeding the programme’s 45 per cent target, while 81 per cent of beneficiary households were within the bottom six income deciles.
It added that 12.9 million households had been visited during the verification exercise, while more than 15.8 million NINs had been verified in the social registry.
Of the households assessed, 10.95 million had been verified using NINs and BVNs and integrated into the National Benefit Delivery Management System.
Payment Speed and Satisfaction
The global lender said 98.9 per cent of beneficiary households received transfers within 10 days of their scheduled payment dates, while beneficiary satisfaction stood at 87.7 per cent.
It also stated that transfers were being made directly into beneficiary-owned digital accounts backed by biometric identification.
Risk Rating Remains ‘Substantial’
Despite the progress reported, the World Bank retained the programme’s overall risk rating at “substantial”, with political and governance, macroeconomic, technical-design and fiduciary risks all rated substantial.
The report also disclosed that 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 World Bank said the programme’s $800 million International Development Association facility had been revised to $776.42 million, with $762.43 million, representing 98.2 per cent, already disbursed. Follow us on X for more updates on this and other developing stories.
