The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) says the Federal Government’s one billion-dollar social protection programme was carefully planned, not a hurried response to opposition rhetoric.
The group said the Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme (HOPE-SP) had been developed over several months following a presidential directive.
This is contained in a statement jointly signed by TMSG Chairman, Mr Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Mr Dapo Okubanjo, on Tuesday in Abuja.
It described claims that the initiative was a panic-driven response to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s economic proposals as misleading.
According to the group, the programme was designed to provide sustainable economic support to vulnerable Nigerians, rather than temporary palliatives.
It said the initiative was developed against the backdrop of economic challenges arising from fuel subsidy removal and exchange-rate reforms.
“HOPE-SP is a well-thought-out, targeted and coordinated plan to fund long-term economic support for vulnerable Nigerians.
“The goal is to provide the poorest of the poor with permanent and sustainable economic freedom, rather than mere palliative support,” the group said.
TMSG said the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, and his team had worked on the programme since November 2025.
It said the development followed a presidential directive and could not have been assembled within days of Atiku’s economic plan.
The group acknowledged that HOPE-SP was launched about one week after Atiku unveiled his economic recovery plan, but said timing did not imply causation.
“Such an elaborate and multi-faceted social protection programme could not have been put together within a few days,” TMSG said.
It said the programme incorporated beneficiary tracking and progress measurement, demonstrating that it was designed as a comprehensive poverty-reduction architecture.
TMSG also recalled that the administration had implemented a cash-transfer programme that benefited about 10 million vulnerable households over the past three years.
The group said the World Bank had also raised concerns about gaps in Nigeria’s social protection system, particularly the reach of government-funded interventions.
It said only 44 per cent of government-funded social protection schemes were reaching intended beneficiaries, according to concerns previously raised by the World Bank.
“President Tinubu had always acknowledged that the ongoing reforms would come with some pains, but pledged that vulnerable Nigerians would not be left unattended to,” it said.
TMSG said HOPE-SP, alongside a recently unveiled World Bank-backed $3 billion programme, represented a broader strategy for reducing multidimensional poverty.
It said the new architecture would track beneficiary households and measure their progress towards economic inclusion and self-reliance.
The group expressed hope that the anti-poverty initiatives would achieve greater impact when state and local governments fully key into the programme.
It said coordinated implementation across the country’s 8,809 wards would help transform vulnerable households and promote sustainable livelihoods.
TMSG commended Nigerians for their resilience and patience in supporting ongoing economic reforms.
It urged Nigerians to remain discerning and resist attempts by political actors to misrepresent government policies ahead of the 2027 elections. (NAN)
