ABUJA, Nigeria – More than 21,000 Nigerians recovering from flood disasters are set to receive interest-free and collateral-free loans of ₦300,000 each, as part of a ₦6.3 billion Federal Government intervention to rebuild livelihoods and boost food security nationwide.
The initiative, announced on Monday by the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Yusuf Sununu, was unveiled during a high-level roundtable in Abuja marking the 2025 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Sununu disclosed that the government has also reached 8.1 million households through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme, disbursing more than ₦300 billion to vulnerable Nigerians.
“Under the Hope Agenda, our ministry—through the National Social Investment Agency—has reached over 8.1 million households with conditional cash transfers exceeding ₦300 billion. This has enhanced their access to health, education, and livelihood opportunities,” he added.
He said the humanitarian ministry is also collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen food security for internally displaced persons (IDPs) through a new agricultural empowerment model.
“IDPs engaged in farming will retain 30% of their produce, while the government will offtake the remaining 70% and return its value in cash to participants,” Sununu explained.
Speaking earlier, the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, warned that Nigeria faces rising disaster risks linked to climate change, conflicts, and other emerging threats.
“We are witnessing an increasing frequency and intensity of disasters that are testing the limits of traditional response systems,” she said.
“Our focus is to build resilience through early warning systems, vulnerability mapping, and innovative financing—such as catastrophe bonds, insurance pools, and climate funds,” she added.
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