Sokoto State has pledged to scale up its social protection programmes to reach more poor households, aligning with global efforts to fight poverty and inequality through inclusive safety nets.
At a workshop in Sokoto on Monday, organised by the State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with UNICEF and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), stakeholders reviewed Nigeria’s Social Protection Policy and strategies to expand the National Social Register.
Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Abubakar Zayyana, said Sokoto’s poverty profile required urgent, targeted interventions. He disclosed that the state had commissioned its own Multidimensional Poverty Index survey to generate reliable, localised data after concerns about the national survey methodology.
“Our approach is bottom-up, gathering ward-level data to ensure policies directly address community needs,” Zayyana said.
UNICEF Social Policy Specialist, Mr Ibrahim Isa, said the EU-supported SUSI programme aims to enrol one million households into the National Social Register by 2025, including 250,000 from Sokoto. He noted that the state would soon enumerate 3,041 new communities to add to the nearly 900,000 households already listed.
Isa praised Sokoto’s commitment to cash transfers, school feeding, pensions, and health coverage for vulnerable groups, but warned that the State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU) lacked field vehicles and equipment. “We urge the government to provide logistics support to ensure accurate targeting and timely data collection,” he said.
Development partners emphasised that strengthening state-level safety nets was essential to reducing multidimensional poverty and building resilience.
The workshop brought together state institutions, local policymakers, and development experts, with participants calling for stronger partnerships to ensure inclusive, sustainable social protection delivery.
