The Federal Government is preparing to relaunch the TraderMoni scheme in November, announcing that each beneficiary will receive N50,000 to bolster their businesses.
The interest-free loan programme for traders, initiated in 2018, had been inactive for a while, but according to Betta Edu, the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, it has not been discontinued.
Edu confirmed the revival of the scheme and explained, “Now, for the first set, which we are starting in November, we are selecting one big market per senatorial district, totaling 109 markets. We are going into the markets, capturing the traders in their shops in the markets.”
In contrast to the earlier phases where traders received N10,000, this relaunch will provide more substantial assistance, with beneficiaries receiving N50,000 to support their businesses.
Edu made this announcement during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
“We are not interested in party lines or any social or personal interest. We capture them in the market, and then, after doing so, we create a bank account just as they are being captured, and the monies are sent directly from the CBN account,” the minister noted.
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She clarified that this is a single, interest-free loan, and individuals who repay it are eligible for another loan.
She refuted suggestions that the programme is a political instrument, emphasising that the elections have concluded and asserting that the current government is dedicated to improving conditions for Nigerians.
“Well, we don’t have elections right now. As we are starting the Renewed Hope GEEP programme, we don’t have elections; we have Nigerians. Politics is over. We are facing governance. That’s what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is all about,” the minister said.
“Now, for the first set, which we are starting in November, we are selecting one big market per senatorial district. That is 109 markets.”
She also mentioned that the government’s conditional cash transfer policy is scheduled to resume later this month.
“With the approval from the President, which we hope to get this week, on the 17th of October, we will be officially launching the conditional cash transfer to 15 million households in Nigeria,” she stated, highlighting the government’s efforts to enhance the social register’s efficiency.
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