By Rasheed Sobowale

The National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) released National Social Register of Poor & Vulnerable Households by states on Friday captured 2,644,495 households and 11,045,537 individuals.

Going by the Register and based on NASSCO assertion, more than 11 million Nigerians may be benefitting from the Federal Government’s  COVID-19 response measures (palliatives) targeting the poor & vulnerable.

More than 1 million people will be benefitting in Zamfara, above nine hundred thousand in Kebbi and more than eight hundred thousand in Katsina. See full list.

However, some States were missing on the list. Stating the reason for this, the Agency stated that “The states yet to be captured like Ogun and Ebonyi are those still in the process of building their register. The govts of both states are giving the process full support,”

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According to NASSCO, the National Social Register is “a gateway for registered poor and vulnerable households to access social interventions or welfare packages by the government, philanthropy, NGOs and/or businesses.

“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is using the list to reach the extreme poor with cash transfers.

“The cash transfer is currently paying 1 million poor and vulnerable households.”

The Agency also hinted that the Federal Government will be expanding the number of registered households from 2.6 million to 4 million by June 2020.

It also noted that the National Social Register (NSR) is available for use by private sectors to target its palliatives and philanthropy.

Vanguard News Nigeria.