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Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The federal government has commenced the implementation phase of its economic and financial inclusion strategy, which aims to improve access to economic opportunities for Nigerians.

To this end, the government has established an inter-agency task force to address challenges delaying President Bola Tinubu’s approved conditional cash transfers to 15 million vulnerable households.

Speaking yesterday, at the inaugural meeting of the Technical Committee of the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, explained that the meeting brought together high-level stakeholders from government agencies, financial institutions, and academia to align on the President’s vision and execution roadmap.

“We are off to a very good start. What has led to the success of what we’ve done so far is alignment and inclusive stakeholder engagement.

“Financial inclusion is not just about having a bank account—it means access to quality services, credit, and the visibility that digital platforms offer,” he said.

Hadejia, cited recent discussions that were had at the World Bank Spring Meetings, noting that, “the whole conversation was about India and what it has been able to achieve in lifting its population out of extreme poverty through financial inclusion.”

Earlier, the committee’s Secretary, Dr. Nurudeen Zauro, who also serves as the Technical Advisor to the President on Financial Inclusion, said the meeting also approved PreCEFI’s strategic roadmap and governance structure.

According to him: “An inter-agency committee has been established to address delays in the disbursement of conditional cash transfers to 15 million households as mandated by President Tinubu.”

The inter-agency task force includes the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

Their goal is to unlock bottlenecks and fast-track the distribution of critical financial support to Nigeria’s most vulnerable.

The meeting also endorsed steps to work with state governments in localising data from the EFInA Access to Financial Services survey – a biennial study conducted by the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) in Nigeria.

“We will be presenting the report to the National Economic Council and the Nigerian Governors Forum to ensure data is domesticated and acted upon at the subnational level,” Zauro said.

Also speaking, Director-General of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, explained that digital identity plays a foundational role in achieving inclusion goals.

“The beauty of the NIN is that it bridges the financial divide. It provides access to health, education, and agricultural services and strengthens national data infrastructure,” she said.

On her part, Director of Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion at the CBN, Dr. Aisha A. Isa-Olatinwo, urged the committee to focus on implementable outcomes that serve those at the base of the pyramid, adding that “Financial inclusion is one of the eight reform pillars of the President’s agenda.”

The Dean of the Lagos ������Ƶ School, Professor Olayinka David-West, said the meeting was solution-oriented.

 “We identified key challenges impacting the achievement of the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda and how we would use our collective wisdom to solve the problems,” she said, adding that, “economic and financial inclusion is every Nigerian’s problem.”

Other members of the committee present at the meeting included the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the Bank of Industry (BOI), Gates Foundation, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU Zaria), the Egbaraden Traditional Council, IQS Africa, and Google.