Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has questioned how the Federal Government identified and paid more than 10 million Nigerians who reportedly benefited from its N75,000 conditional cash transfer programme despite allegedly having no mobile phones.
Atiku made the remarks in his Independence Day address, responding to comments by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda.
Yilwatda had reportedly said that many of the beneficiaries were poor and vulnerable Nigerians who did not own mobile phones, television sets or have access to social media.
Reacting to the statement, Atiku asked how the government identified, contacted and paid the beneficiaries, particularly those living in parts of Borno and Yobe affected by insecurity.
He questioned whether the money was delivered physically or transferred into bank accounts, asking the government to provide evidence and transaction records to account for the payments.
Atiku also criticised the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu's administration, claiming that the past three years had worsened the cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria.
He further questioned President Tinubu's declaration that the period of “emergency treatment” was over and that the country had entered an “age of prosperity,” arguing that such a declaration alone could not immediately improve the financial situation of Nigerian families.
The comments have added to the ongoing political debate over the Federal Government's cash-transfer programme and the country's economic conditions.
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