FG using AI to identify poor Nigerians for cash transfers – Minister

• The Federal Government of Nigeria has introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the accuracy of identifying the most vulnerable citizens for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme
• Using AI technology and telecommunications data, authorities have expanded the national social register to include 19.7 million beneficiaries, including 6.5 million newly identified urban poor individuals
• To enhance transparency and efficiency, all cash transfers are now made directly to verified bank accounts, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to eliminate cash-based transactions

The Federal Government of Nigeria introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify the nation's most vulnerable citizens in a bid to enhance the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme.

The initiative aimed to ensure greater accuracy in determining beneficiaries while expanding the national social register.

AI-driven identification of vulnerable Nigerians

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, disclosed the development during an interview with Arise News on Friday.

He explained that AI technology, combined with telecommunications data, enabled authorities to pinpoint individuals in both rural and urban areas who required financial assistance.

Yilwatda highlighted that the AI-driven process facilitated the addition of 6.5 million urban poor individuals to the social register, raising the total number of beneficiaries to 19.7 million.

“AI was to generate a list of people who are poor in that community using identified telephone numbers,” the minister said.

AI identifies financial information of beneficiaries

The minister noted that, through AI, authorities could access necessary financial details such as phone numbers and account information of eligible individuals.

“You can now find their phone numbers, you can find their account numbers, you can find their financial services. And AI was to generate an additional 6.5 people who are urban poor, and these numbers were added to the social register,” Yilwatda explained.

Cashless disbursement of Conditional Cash Transfer funds

The government adopted a cashless payment system for all CCT disbursements, in accordance with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to eliminate cash-based transactions.

“The President said that we can’t pay people using cash again. So there’s no cash payment, no movement of money even with the conditional cash,” the minister stated.

World Bank and independent verifiers engaged

To ensure transparency, the government collaborated with the World Bank and independent verifiers, including civil society organisations, to validate the accuracy of data in the social register. Yilwatda revealed that 94 percent of listed beneficiaries were verified through direct physical contact, while 6 percent could not be reached, possibly due to inactive phone numbers or other factors.

The integration of AI into Nigeria’s social welfare programme marks a significant step towards improving the efficiency and accuracy of beneficiary identification, reinforcing the government’s commitment to poverty reduction.

FG clears 2 million households for N75,000 cash transfer

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian government has begun the revalidation exercise on the National Social Register to strengthen the conditional cash transfer programme and ease the impact of economic reforms.

About 2.3 million households have been confirmed and cleared for the payment under the revamped scheme.

Source: Legit.ng