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Nigeria

ADC calls Tinubu's N50,000 monthly cash relief an election gimmick

The opposition's rejection of the federal relief scheme shows the cost of living is shaping the run-up to Nigeria's 2027 general election.

Photo: BusinessDay

What happened

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, announced a monthly cash relief scheme on Friday, October 30, 2026, in Abuja. Vanguard+1 Under the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI), selected vulnerable households will receive N50,000 a month paid directly into bank accounts or mobile wallets. Legit.ng The government said NERSI requires no application, agent registration or payment of fees to qualify. Legit.ng The African Democratic Congress (ADC) dismissed the scheme as an election gimmick driven by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's desperation, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi. allafrica.com The party said the announcement was a panic reaction to its own promise to reduce the cost of living if it wins next year's general election. allafrica.com

Around it

The scheme is part of a wider set of measures that includes a 90-day economic action plan, cash transfers targeting 7.5 million households and a N70,000 monthly transport intervention for public service workers. BusinessDay The measures come more than three years after Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, and commentators have asked why similar urgency was not shown earlier, when households faced rising food and transport costs. BusinessDay A Vanguard columnist also questioned why the administration is distributing assistance as another general election approaches. Vanguard The ADC said affordability and lowering the cost of living are the central focus of its campaign and that of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. allafrica.com

Sources

  1. allafrica.comNigeria: ADC Dismisses Tinubu's N50,000 Cash Relief As Election Gimmick, Desperation
  2. BusinessDayFG's cost-of-living relief and the politics of timing
  3. VanguardN50,000 for the vulnerable: Tinubu’s sudden generosity and the politics of election-season compassion, by Ejiro Ofoye
  4. Legit.ngFG to begin N50k monthly cash payment to bank accounts

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