Tony Chukwunyem 
As rescue operations continue for victims of the floods in Maiduguri and other parts of northern Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Federal Government to expand its transfer system to cover people in the rural areas.
The Director of Communications Department at the IMF, Julie Kozack, stated this while responding to questions at a press briefing held by the Fund on Thursday. She noted that the flood disaster “occurred in a situation where already 31 million Nigerians are affected by food insecurity.”
Kozack said: “With respect to the floods, our thoughts are with the Nigerian people, especially those that are most affected by the devastating floods that occurred from exceptionally heavy rains.
This has occurred in a situation where 31 million Nigerians are affected by food insecurity and the floods are obviously creating substantial challenges, particularly in the affected areas.
The authorities in Nigeria are providing support to affected individuals and communities at the local level. “From our perspective, what is important is for the government to continue to roll out the cash transfer system. This is really important to provide relief to affected households.
And given the nature of this crisis, it will require broadening this cash transfer system to cover people in rural areas as well.” The IMF official, however, emphasised that the FG’s reform efforts to promote growth while bringing down inflation, “are important to providing economic opportunities for all Nigerians and for addressing rising poverty and food insecurity.”
Saturday Telegraph reports that at the briefing on Nigeria’s Article IV Consultation in May, IMF’s Assistant Director, African Department and Mission Chief for Nigeria, Axel Schimmelpfennig, called on the FG to scale up its cash transfers to help poor Nigerians manage the cost of living crisis He said:
“On fiscal policy, we very much recognised the pain that many Nigerians are facing at the moment. Hence, our emphasis on scaling up the cash transfer programme; it can potentially reach up to 50 million recipients and that is potentially beneficial for some 65 million Nigerians in need.
“We encourage that the cash transfer system and other support systems are implemented. We emphasise that it is very important to scale those up to help Nigerians manage the ongoing cost of living crisis.
