The National Pension Commission (PenCom), yesterday revealed that over 84,000 Nigerians have enrolled in the ongoing Micro Pension plan. This was even as the Commission reiterated that it will continue to embark on massive awareness to ensure more Nigerians key into the initiative.

thecable.ng (29.08.2022) The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says it is planning to provide incentives to contributors under the micro pension plan (MPP). The commission said incentives such as health insurance would increase participation in the scheme. Dahir-Umar said the MPP was implemented to curb old-age poverty by assisting informal sector workers, including small-scale businesses, entertainers, professionals, petty traders, and others.

Daily Post Nigeria (12.08.2022)  The Federal Government said the introduction of digitalized cash transfer payment will help in addressing some lapses while operating the analog payment system. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, disclosed this at the official flag-off of the grant for vulnerable groups as well as the digitized payment for conditional cash transfer held in Dutse, Jigawa State.

worldbank.org (16.11.2021) While health indicators and macroeconomic data are essential for addressing the fundamentals of the COVID-19 crisis, countervailing policies need detailed information on the mechanisms through which the pandemic affects human capital, livelihoods, and welfare. This is especially important in Nigeria because the pandemic threatens to compound the country’s high levels of poverty: even before COVID-19, around 4 in 10 Nigerians lived below the national poverty line, and multidimensional poverty was even more widespread.

allafrica.com (14.10.2021) Social protection is a right for the federal government and not a token or favour. The last 18 months have been difficult for families and communities across the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vision of equality and inclusion as explained in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has become blurred. Social protection programme coverage in Nigeria has remained low during the COVID-19 crisis.

Research ICT Africa (January 2021) This RIA policy brief examines how technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), can be deployed to scale social protection programmes as well as reduce corruption in the disbursement of social protection grants, which the COVID-19 lockdowns, have revealed are vital lifelines for the most vulnerable.

nairametrics.com (28.01.2021)

The Guardian Nigeria News (20.01.2021) - No fewer than One million Nigerians are to benefit from the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Cash Transfer Project which aims to lift the urban poor affected by the pandemic out of poverty. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said this on Tuesday in Abuja while inaugurating the COVID-19 Rapid Response Registration (RRR) Cash Transfer Project.