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From Shafa’atu Suleiman, Sokoto
The Sokoto State government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening social protection policies to reduce poverty and inequality as stakeholders gathered for a consultation workshop for social protection capacity needs assessment in Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Abubakar Muhammad Zayyana, said social protection is crucial in driving social and economic development globally.
Zayyana said while social protection initiatives like cash transfers, school feeding programmes, health insurance schemes, and labour market interventions play a vital role in reducing poverty, addressing inequality, and promoting social justice, Nigeria still faces major challenges, including limited coverage, weak coordination among institutions, and inadequate funding.
According to him, only 18.6% of Nigerians currently benefit from social protection coverage, a figure he described as “very minimal” compared to the country’s large population.
He said there is a need for proper coordination among relevant agencies to harmonise efforts, avoid duplication of roles, and ensure that interventions reach the most vulnerable groups effectively.
“This workshop is timely as it seeks to identify capacity gaps, improve coordination, and align Nigeria’s social protection policy with Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s nine-point development agenda,” he said.
According to him, the session will also provide stakeholders with a platform to validate and contextualise data collected on both contributory and non-contributory schemes.
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Declaring the workshop open, the commissioner expressed optimism that its outcomes would strengthen the country’s social protection system and ensure dignity and security for all citizens.
While speaking, the national programme officer for the Supporting Sustainable Social Protection System in Nigeria (SUSI), Benefit Obute, commended the efforts of the Sokoto State government, social partners, civil society organisations, and development partners working together to identify gaps and collectively build a roadmap for improving policy coherence and service delivery in the social protection sector.
He said that the project seeks to introduce and validate methodologies for assessing capacity gaps within the country’s social protection ecosystem, covering four key dimensions, including individual, organisational, systemic, and coordination.
According to him, the workshop provides a platform for stakeholders drawn from both contributory and non-contributory social protection schemes to review and validate data collection tools that will guide the assessment.
“We notice that effective coordination, proper mapping of institutions, and inclusive participation are critical to ensuring the success of the project. The data generated from the assessment is expected to inform policy decisions and strengthen the delivery of social protection programmes nationwide,” he said.
The initiative is part of the EU-funded Social Protection SUSI project, which was nationally launched in March and aims to address gaps in coverage and improve the effectiveness of social protection interventions in Nigeria.
