By Emmanuel Bagudu
The Civil Society Leaders Forum on Social Protection and Sustainable Development convened in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, to advocate for various strategies to ensure the social protection of citizens amidst ongoing economic challenges.
Comprising Civil Society Leaders dedicated to Social Protection for Nigerian Citizens, the forum made several noteworthy observations during its meeting.
The forum commended the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for its efforts in providing various forms of palliatives to alleviate the poverty and suffering of Nigerians, especially the most vulnerable. It emphasized the importance of sustaining these efforts.
The forum expressed concern over the continual decline of the nation’s social protection program across successive administrations.
The level of poverty and inequality remains alarmingly high, with Nigeria’s ranking on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) hitting an all-time low. The 2022 index revealed Nigeria’s placement at 161 out of 193 countries and territories, as indicated in the recently released 2023-24 human development report in March 2024.
The forum highlighted the need for serious action on the discrepancies identified in the social protection register by relevant authorities.
Since the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and the National Coordinator of the Social Investment Programme, there has been a lack of public information regarding the status of the government’s social protection program implementation.
The forum urged the government to revive and sustain efforts to alleviate poverty and uplift millions of Nigerians from severe hardships, stressing the importance of not allowing these efforts to falter.
“We urge the government to fully resume the implementation of social protection programs introduced by previous administrations.
“The government should prioritize efforts to improve Nigeria’s social protection program ratings.
“Government must address public concerns regarding the credibility of the social register, ensuring it accurately reflects those who have fallen into poverty due to current economic challenges resulting from subsidy removal.
“We call on the government to diligently address and rectify the discrepancies identified in the social protection register to ensure accurate data capture of program beneficiaries.”
