The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Nigerian government to expedite the completion of its cash transfer programme to support vulnerable households, stressing that the initiative remains a crucial priority amid the country’s ongoing economic reforms.
This call was made by Julie Kozack, Director of the IMF’s Communications Department, during a press briefing held on March 27, 2025.
Kozack noted that while the Fund welcomes the Nigerian authorities’ efforts to stabilise the economy and stimulate growth, these measures must be accompanied by social interventions that directly support the country’s most affected populations.
“We do recognise the extremely difficult situation that many Nigerians face,” Kozack said. “For that reason, I just want to emphasise that completing the rollout of cash transfers to vulnerable households is an important priority for Nigeria, as is improving revenue mobilisation domestically.”
IMF staff to return to Nigeria ahead of Article IV Consultation
Kozack also confirmed that the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director, Gita Gopinath, had visited Nigeria earlier in the month, meeting with key government officials, including Finance Minister Wale Edun and Central Bank Governor Yemi Cardoso.
During the two-day visit to Abuja and Lagos, Gopinath also engaged with civil society organisations, private sector leaders, and students at the University of Lagos.
The IMF revealed that its staff would be returning to Nigeria next week to begin the groundwork for the 2025 Article IV Consultation, a regular review of Nigeria’s economic and financial policies.
She noted that further updates on Nigeria are expected after the IMF mission completes its work in the country.
What you should know
Last year, the IMF urged Nigeria to expand its cash transfer program to include rural areas in response to the country’s growing challenges of food insecurity and rising poverty.
- It has repeatedly called on the Nigerian government to scale up its cash transfers to help poor Nigerians manage the cost of living crisis.
- This was as the IMF acknowledged the pain Nigerians are going through due to rising inflation and ongoing reforms.
- Nairametrics earlier reported that at least 83% of the beneficiaries of the Nigerian government’s cash transfer program, funded by an $800 million World Bank loan, are located in urban areas.
- According to a document on the National Social Safety Net Program-Scale Up (NASSP-SU) project obtained from the website of the World Bank, over three million poor and vulnerable households received cash transfers as of May 2024.
- This total includes 700,000 rural households and 2.5 million urban households, indicating a significantly higher number of beneficiaries in urban areas.
The World Bank said earlier that cash transfers can help save Nigerians from intergenerational poverty traps as inflation and low economic growth adversely affect the poor.