FG Used AI to Identify Poor Nigerians for Cash Transfers – Minister

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, has revealed that the Federal Government deployed Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify the poorest Nigerians in rural communities.

Speaking in an interview with Arise News, Yilwatda stated that the use of AI helped determine eligible beneficiaries for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, which has reached over 5.8 million Nigerians in the last six months. The initiative followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive that all disbursements be made to verified account holders only.

“AI was used to generate the list of poor people in the communities through their phone numbers, and it also helped identify 6.5 million urban poor individuals, who were added to the national social register,” the Minister said.

He also noted that contrary to criticisms, many beneficiaries made meaningful use of the N75,000 they received.

“I’m from a rural community. If you give a rural farmer ₦75,000, it goes a long way. World Bank research showed that 18% of those who received the money were able to start their own businesses,” he explained.

Yilwatda added that the updated and validated social register now includes 19.7 million Nigerians, covering both rural and urban poor.