Nigeria began distributing about $1.5 billion of cash to 15 million households vulnerable to rising food and fuel prices after inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in 18 years.
Each household will receive 25,000 naira ($32.70) a month over three months starting October, Wale Edun, minister of finance, said at a briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Tuesday. The cash transfers will cost the government $1.5 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.
President Bola Tinubu has scrapped fuel subsidies and allowed the naira to weaken in a bid to revive a moribund economy. That’s resulted in a jump in prices of everything from bread to bus fares in a nation that’s home to the largest number of people living in poverty in Africa.
The 75,000 naira will help boost economic activities for vulnerable households, put food on their table and ensure that children have access to at least the basic education, said Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation. The money will enable “families to access quality basic health care and ensure that people have the spending power to be able to fend for themselves and their household,” she said.
Tinubu’s measures helped save $10 billion the government spent on capping prices of gasoline last year. The inflation rate jumped for a ninth straight month in September to 26.7%, with food prices accelerating at 30.6%.
