President Mohammed Buhari said he has directed the National Social Register for Poor and Vulnerable Households to increase the number of estimated households to 3.6 million.
In a televised broadcast on Monday night, the president announced that all palliative measures will be sustained following the extension to the lockdown directives in FCT, Lagos and Ogun state
Increasing the beneficiaries of the federal government palliative from an initial 2.6 million, the president stated that support measures such as cash transfer and food distribution will be provided to Poor and Vulnerable Households (PVHH) for the next two weeks.
“In the past two weeks, we announced palliative measures such as food distribution, cash transfers and loan repayment waivers to ease the pains of our restrictive policies during this difficult time. These palliatives will be sustained.
“I have also directed that the current social register be expanded from 2.6 million households to 3.6 million households in the next two weeks. This means we will support an additional one million homes with our social investment programs. A technical committee is working on this and will submit a report to me by the end of this week,” he said.
Speaking further, Buhari noted that despite the harsh reality of most daily wage earners, restriction of movement, the prohibition of mass gathering and social distancing remains one of the most effective ways of containing the spread of COVID-19.
“I am fully aware of the great difficulties experienced especially by those who earn a daily wage such as traders, day workers, artisans, and manual workers. For this group, their sustenance depends on their ability to go out. Their livelihoods depend on them mingling with others and about seeking work. But despite these realities, we must not change the restrictions.
“Today, the cessation of movement, physical distancing measures and the prohibition of mass gatherings remain the most efficient and effective way of reducing the transmission of the virus.”
The president added that “With this in mind, it has become necessary to extend the current restriction of movement in Lagos and Ogun States as well as the FCT for another fourteen days effective from 11:59 pm on Monday, 13th of April, 2020. I am therefore once again asking you all to work with Government in this fight,’’
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