The Sokoto State Government has commended the European Union and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for their commitment to expanding the State Social Register to include more poor and vulnerable residents, giving them access to social protection programmes and future interventions.
The commendation was given by Dr. Abubakar Muhammad Zayyana, Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, during a consultation meeting on the Multidimensional Model of National Social Register Expansion held at the Sokoto Guest Inn.
Dr. Zayyana described the expansion as urgent, revealing that about 3,041 communities and settlements across the state are still not captured in either the national or state social registers. This gap, he said, undermines residents’ fundamental rights by preventing them from accessing essential services and income support designed for vulnerable households.
He reaffirmed the State Government’s readiness to collaborate closely with the European Union and UNICEF to ensure the enrolment of 250,000 new beneficiaries between November 2025 and November 2026.
Also speaking at the meeting, the District Head of Gagi, Sani Umar, who represented the Sultanate Council, underscored the need to prioritise urban local governments, especially within the Sokoto metropolis, where rising insecurity and banditry have forced many vulnerable people to migrate. He called for continuous engagement of traditional institutions to minimise inclusion and exclusion errors in identifying eligible households.
The Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Sokoto State, Abdullahi A. Yabo, stressed the importance of including both public and private sector workers in future support programmes. He noted that a considerable number of workers still live below the national poverty line of 1.25 US dollars per day.
On his part, Mr. Isah Ibrahim, UNICEF Social Policy Specialist in Sokoto, announced that the European Union and UNICEF plan to enrol one million poor and vulnerable households across Abia, Benue, Sokoto, and Oyo States by the end of the next fiscal year—allocating 250,000 households to each state.
He explained that the revised targeting and community engagement model embraces a multidimensional approach to poverty, with the goal of building an inclusive, interoperable National Social Register able to inform cross-sectoral planning and link households to essential services. The pilot model is designed to enhance demand for health, nutrition, education, and social protection services.
According to Mr. Isah, the new model integrates multidimensional poverty indicators into the National Social Register operations, strengthening it as a gateway to critical social services through referral systems, while ensuring equity, inclusion, transparency, and stronger community participation.
