The Federal Government has expressed the readiness to expand the social register for palliative distribution given the lockdown order as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Farouq disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja.
While responding to questions at Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19, she said digital models, including the use of Bank Verification Number (BVN), would be used in distributing the palliative.
She noted that the digital measure would be faster and make the distribution more effective.
Federal Government To Distribute Palliative Via BVN
“We are using other models, including BVN, to identify bank accounts. We are also using mobile phone networks to identify poor and vulnerable people in society.
“This is going to be faster, transparent and give room for more accountability.”
According to the minister, the conditional cash transfer to poor households which is currently going on in some parts of the country is transparent and well organized.
She said that all measures had been put in place by the Federal Government to avoid duplication of households.
She also revealed that civic groups, traditional and religious leaders, among others are performing the role of identifying the poor in their communities, thereby assisting the Federal Government in the distribution.
Many Nigerians have asked the government to reach out to people through their BVN to ensure that the palliative gets to many people.
Also, National leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu had earlier urged the Federal Government to make cash payments to households through Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) as palliative.
