Minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Sadiya Umar Farouq says some Nigerians had never seen N5000, saying it lifts poor Nigerians from one stage to the other.
Gatekeepers News reports Umar Farouq said this during a briefing with state house correspondents.
She noted that it is “elitist” to assume that the N5,000 monthly national cash transfer to vulnerable households is insignificant.
Umar Farouq added that the intervention may not be fitting for some classes of Nigerians, but it makes a difference in the lives of poor Nigerians.
She said: “If you look at the people that you are taking this intervention to, N5,000 means a lot to them because these are poor and vulnerable households and it changes their status, but for you and me, N5,000 is not even enough for us to buy recharge card, that’s the difference.
“But for these poor people in the communities, you have seen, they were able to save out of that N5,000.
“When people say N5000 does not save people, that is an elitist statement, honestly because we’ve had causes to go to the field, and we have seen these people that when you give them this N5,000, they cried and shed tears because they’ve never seen N5,000 it in their lives.
“So, it goes a long way, it changes their status and by that, it lifts them from one stage to another.”
