Ten thousand, one hundred and seventy three (10,173), households in Niger are to benefit from the first phase of the Federal Government’s Conditional Cash Transfer programme.
Mrs Afiniki Dauda, Special Adviser to Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger on Empowerment and Social Mobilisation, disclosed this in Minna on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
She said 12 Local Government Areas were participating in the first phase of the programme, while the remaining Local Governments would have their turn in the second phase.
Daudu said that the Federal Government had set aside N5 billion in the 2017 budget for the programme to assist less privileged people in the country.
The governor`s aide said that some beneficiaries had started receiving their stipend of N5,000.
She explained that the selection of beneficiaries was based on data collected for the World Bank to assist over 10,000 needy people living in the state.
She added that the state government would complement the effort by ensuring smooth and transparent running of the programme.
Daudu enjoined the remaining local governments that were not captured in the first phase to exercise patience, adding that they would be considered in the second phase of the programme.
She appealed to beneficiaries to make judicious use of the cash by registering their children in school and immunise them against killer diseases. (NAN)
