Sokoto (Nigeria): The Sokoto State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is targeting no fewer than 250,000 new households in the expansion of the National Social Register in the state.
The State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Abubakar Zayyana, disclosed this at the end of the orientation exercise tagged “Multidimensional Model” for seven pilot Local Government teams and stakeholders, held in Sokoto on Saturday.
Zayyana described the exercise as crucial, assuring that it would produce a credible, transparent document for social protection programmes.
The commissioner emphasised that social protection was aimed at reducing social injustice, exclusion and insecurity, while improving human capital development, among other benefits.
He noted that the social register provides data-driven guidance for the government and partners to inform planning decisions for interventions targeting beneficiaries and to assess their impact.
Zayyana reassured the government of its commitment to numerous social protection interventions, stating, “coupled with the efforts of partners, positive change will be witnessed in the state’s multidimensional index.”
He reiterated the state government’s focus on results rather than outcomes and urged all stakeholders to work diligently to achieve the desired goals.
The UNICEF Social Policy Specialist, Mr Isa Ibrahim, who represented the Chief of UNICEF Sokoto Field Office, Mr Michael Juma, said the new multidimensional social register approach was designed to integrate the most deprived households into basic services.
Juma identified the deprived services to include: children’s fundamental rights to education, nutrition, and health; birth certificates; and access to water and sanitation, among others.
He noted that it was also a single database of poor and vulnerable households, community profile and their deprivation status in the country, “which will harmonise all the State Social Registers (SSRs).
“This can be made available to any poverty intervention programme, upon demand.”
He appealed to the local government teams to cooperate with the enumerators and other teams to ensure the successful expansion of the social register to integrate the targeted 250,000 households across the state.
Juma revealed that the new model aimed to integrate a multidimensional poverty perspective into the operations of the National Social Register, positioning it as a gateway to health, nutrition, education, and social services through established referral systems.
He said the exercise would ensure inclusivity, equity, and transparency through enhanced community engagement and grievance redress mechanisms.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Shagari Local Government, Alhaji Maidawa Kajiji, who spoke on behalf of the seven LG chairmen, commended the ministry and UNICEF for their efforts.
Kajiji observed that the initiative would facilitate poverty reduction among the poor and vulnerable population and ensure an improved social protection framework.
Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, represented by the District Head of Gagi, Alhaji Sani Umar-Jabbi, noted that the state government’s efforts, through the Ministry of Budget and UNICEF, were bridging gaps and harmonising the social register.
Abubakar said the efforts would benefit all citizens of the state and called on participants to support the crusade.
