Business
Poverty Alleviation: NAPEP Disburses N1.5bn To Less Privileged
The National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) has started the disbursement of N1.5 billion to 19,440 households under its ‘Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme’.
This is contained in a statement issued last Friday in Abuja and signed by Mr Danladi Kobi, NAPEP’s Chief Press Secretary.
The statement said NAPEP had been carrying out the scheme to alleviate poverty, and that the current disbursement of N1.5 billion had the highest number of households to be reached since the scheme started in 2007.
It said that the scheme was being financed by the MDG office as a Social Safety Net Programme designed to arrest “intergenerational transfer of poverty’’.
“The poorest households are provided with cash grants to enable them send their children to school and attend primary health facilities.
“Since February, more than 500 staff of NAPEP have been trained and sent out to target and capture the biometric data of the core poor in 27 states of the federation,’’ the statement added.
It quoted Mr Shehu Jafiya, the Executive Director of Ecobank, who supervised the disbursement, as saying that the transparent manner in which the scheme was executed by NAPEP and Ecobank justified the confidence NAPEP and government reposed in the bank.
“He said that Ecobank only disbursed the money to beneficiaries with valid identity cards,’’ the statement said.
It also quoted NAPEP National Coordinator, Mr Muktar Tafawa-Balewa, as saying that the organisation had risen to the challenge of delivering on its mandate to the poor.
“NAPEP is also fulfilling the aspirations of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan because it plays a unique and pivotal role in poverty alleviation.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
