Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said the country is spending its increased revenue on social investment, such as cash transfers to Nigerians.
Edun disclosed this on Tuesday at a panel session during the 30th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja.
According to him, Nigeria’s revenue generation had doubled due to the use of efficient technologies.
He noted that the government plans to conduct additional cash transfers to 20 million Nigerians to tackle economic hardship.
“The social investment programme is spearheaded by direct transfers to reach 60 per cent of the poorest in the population. And right now, 20 million households are being supported directly. And it’s going to rise to, well, 20 million people, four million households so far, and it will rise to 15 million households who will be paid directly by the government.
“That is how President Tinubu’s government is spending the money which is being yielded from better oil production,” he said.
Earlier in September 2024, the Nigerian government disbursed N24.78 billion to 991,261 poor households as part of efforts to tackle economic hardship.
The National Bureau of Statistics data showed that Nigeria collected N1.56 trillion as revenue from value-added tax in the second quarter of 2024.
This comes as Nigeria’s crude oil production rose to 1.352 million barrels in August, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.
