The Federal Government is set to expand the social register for
palliative distribution by employing digital models including the use of
Bank Verification Number (BVN).
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 noted that this digital measure will be faster and make the distribution more effective.
“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 the society.
“This is going to be faster, transparent and give room for more accountability,” she said.
She
added that the conditional cash transfer to poor households which is
currently going on in some parts of the country is transparent and well
organized.
According to the Minister, all measures have been put in place by the Federal Government to avoid duplication of households.
She
also revealed that civil 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.
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.
Tinubu said the move would help cushion the effects of
COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians and noted that the government can make
direct deposits into individual bank accounts using the BVN of
prospective recipients