The Federal Government has stepped up plans to build a unified digital payment infrastructure for delivering social benefits to Nigerians.
Bernard M. Doro, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, is also calling for stronger collaboration among government institutions to create a transparent, interoperable and technology-driven Government-to-Person (G2P) payment system.
Speaking at the Stakeholder Engagement and Business Requirements Validation Workshop on the Government-to-Person Solution for Direct Benefits Transfer to Nigerians held at the State House Auditorium, Aso Villa, Doro said digital infrastructure must guarantee timely, secure and accountable payments to vulnerable citizens.
The minister said the proposed G2P platform forms a key component of the Ministry’s One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), a national framework designed to integrate humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction into a coordinated system.
According to Doro, the platform is intended to improve coordination and interoperability across government agencies rather than replace existing systems.
“The proposed G2P Solution,” Doro said, “is not intended to create new institutions or duplicate existing mandates, but to strengthen coordination and interoperability among agencies responsible for beneficiary management, payment administration, digital governance, and programme implementation.”
He added that an integrated digital payment ecosystem would enable beneficiaries to receive secure, traceable and timely payments regardless of the government agency implementing an intervention.
According to the minister, “citizens do not ask for perfection. They ask for a Government that is timely, secure, and answerable for every Naira it moves.”
The minister noted that the success of the initiative would depend on collaboration among federal and state governments, financial system operators, development partners and implementing agencies, expressing confidence that the workshop would produce practical recommendations for a robust and transparent payment solution.
The proposed G2P platform aligns with Nigeria’s broader efforts to strengthen digital public infrastructure by integrating identity, payment and beneficiary management systems to improve the delivery of cash transfer programmes to vulnerable households.
The workshop brought together representatives from the Office of the Vice President, the National Social Investment Programme Agency, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Galaxy Backbone, IQS, PreCEFI and development partners.
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