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Coalition Lauds Tinubu’s Cash Transfer Programme

Published

3 years ago

December 20, 2023

The Nigerian Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (NCCSO) has commended the recent flag-off of the National Cash Transfer Programme by President Bola Tinubu-led administration over its poverty reduction potentials.

The commendation came during a press conference addressed by the leader of NCCSO, Abimbola Ademola on Tuesday in Abuja.

Speaking on behalf of the Coalition, Ademola stated that the civil society groups welcome the Federal Government unwavering resolve to tackle poverty through the “Renewed Hope Cash Transfer”, while backing the National Cash Transfer Office under the leadership of the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Beta Edu to deliver on the initiative.

The Coalition stressed that the National Cash Transfer Programme will help the poor develop savings skills and ultimately reduce poverty, while urging the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation not to relent in doing the right thing.
Part of the statement read: “We want to express our joy and happiness in the transparency thus far, we also encourage Dr. Edu to keep up the good works as we are satisfied with her hard work and achievements.

“President Bola Tinubu’s initiation of the Renewed Hope Cash Transfer Programme is highly commendable as the Programme has successfully credited about 2.6 million Nigerians with N25,000, through their bank accounts. These Nigerians, though extremely poor, previously had no bank accounts to enable them to benefit from the programme. These nearly three million Nigerians will receive additional N25,000 for two months totaling N75, 000. They are representatives of poor and vulnerable households identified through the National Social Register.

“The National Cash Transfer Office under the able leadership of Dr. Beta Edu, the Minister for Humanitarian affairs and Poverty Alleviation aims to reach 15 million poor and vulnerable households, with cash transfers of 25 thousand Naira monthly for three months, under the renewed hope conditional cash transfer program of Mr President.

“This is being done in a phased approach of 5 million households per month. The National Cash Transfer Program has also made a breakthrough as it was able to validate existing poor vulnerable household data from the National Social Register, through its ongoing beneficiary enrolment process. The office is currently in the hinterland of Nigeria’s rural areas, physically identifying these poor individuals, who have largely been unbanked and have also been without any form of telecommunications exposure.

“They are enrolling them into a beneficiary register with its vast network of about 10,000 cash transfer facilitators, spread across every ward of the federation, doing physical identification and engagements with these vulnerable individuals to ensure that only the poorest of the poor benefit from the National Cash Transfer Programme.

“This in itself is a huge task because it helps identify new Nigerians that had previously been left behind in the planning process of this country, bringing them into the forefront of Nigeria’s resource allocation initiatives.

“All these and more are being midwifed by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs under the leadership of Dr. Betta Edu through the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office, initiatives conceived under the National Social Safety Net Programme, which is a poverty mapping and alleviation collaboration between the Nigerian Government through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Ministry of Finance and the World Bank

“All in the bid to create financial access for these beneficiaries, and alleviate the interim hardships emanating from Nigeria’s ongoing economic reforms.
“The funds are transferred directly into the beneficiary bank accounts, from the accounts of the Cash Transfer Office in the CBN, without any intermediary funds warehousing as promised by Mr President.

“The Cash Transfer Office is also ensuring that all beneficiaries have BVN or NIN generated for them, as directed by the CBN, which further strengthens Nigeria’s ability to identify and plan for the well-being of its vast number of citizens.”

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Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2026

The Gleamer

By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.

Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.

The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.

According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.

He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.

He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.

Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.

He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.

Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.

In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.

The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.

In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.

He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.

For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.

He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.

On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.

He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.

He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).

He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.

According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.

Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.

He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.

He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.

Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.

He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.

Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.

Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.

His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.

Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.

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