First Lady Oluremi Tinubu unveils HOPE-SP initiative as government shifts focus from temporary relief to sustainable economic empowerment.
The Federal Government has launched its $1 billion Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme to move vulnerable Nigerians beyond temporary assistance towards economic empowerment and self-reliance.
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu unveiled the programme on Wednesday at the Presidential Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, highlighting the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP) as a key component of the initiative.
She said HOPE-SP would improve the identification and support of vulnerable households by providing immediate assistance while creating pathways for beneficiaries to recover, become economically empowered and achieve self-reliance.
The programme also includes the One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System, designed to coordinate humanitarian interventions, social protection and poverty reduction while reducing duplication and strengthening national registries for poor and vulnerable households.
The HOPE-SP initiative targets about 7.6 million vulnerable households, with eligible beneficiaries expected to receive a one-off digital shock-response cash transfer of ₦40,000. Selection will be based on the National Social Register, with beneficiaries’ National Identification Numbers used for verification.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, said the programme would deliberately track households and measure their progress towards economic self-reliance.
Doro disclosed that the Federal Government had disbursed more than ₦600 billion in cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians over the past three years, reaching slightly more than 10 million households.
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum said the programme could also help tackle insecurity by addressing poverty, illiteracy and social inequality, which he identified as underlying drivers of insurgency and other crises.
The Federal Government said the new framework would build on existing cash-transfer reforms while establishing a more targeted and accountable system to help vulnerable households transition from dependence to sustainable economic participation.