• Stakeholders urge govt to institutionalise NSR
To combat extreme poverty, Nigeria is rolling out a massive and technologically advanced plan, leveraging its National Social Register (NSR) as the primary tool.
Head, National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Dr Funmi Olotu, who disclosed this at a one-day stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, said that the register, which currently lists over 70 million individuals, is being overhauled to ensure social interventions are transparent, accountable and reach those most in need.
She said that under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the NSR is no longer just a database; it is also being transformed into a living instrument of hope designed to proactively identify and support the poor and vulnerable people in Nigeria.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who spoke at the event, said the theme of the gathering, “Adversary Social Protection through the National Social Register: A Resilient Tool for a Resilient Nigeria,’ deeply resonates with the state’s vision of a Nigeria where resilience is built on a system that ensures dignity, opportunities and protection for everyone.
Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Sam Egube, emphasised that the engagement is not about statistics but about the collective responsibility to ensure no citizen is left behind.
Also, Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, represented by his deputy, commended the organisers for providing a platform to collectively strengthen the response to social and economic realities.
STAKEHOLDERS have stressed the need for Nigeria to institutionalise and sustain the National Social Register (NSR) as a central tool for poverty reduction, saying that deliberate government action and consistent updates to the database are critical for long-term impact.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Social Policy Manager, Muhammad Okorie, who spoke on the importance of the NSR, stated that the register serves as a national database of poor and vulnerable people identified through a rigorous three-step process.
The approach, he noted, begins with mapping out poor and vulnerable local councils, followed by community identification of poverty based on their own standards, adding that this is then complemented by a proxy means test, after which those confirmed poor are compiled into the register.
According to him, the NSR ensures that poverty alleviation interventions are not based on assumptions but on verifiable data showing who the poor are, where they live, their household composition, and the level of deprivation they face.
“This allows the government and partners to properly target those most in need,” he said.
Okorie emphasised that the government must take deliberate steps, including establishing a clear policy framework mandating that all poverty-related interventions focus on beneficiaries listed in the register.
He added that states should also be required to create functional systems and agencies dedicated to continuously updating the database.
He, therefore, recommended that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and development partners involved in poverty reduction be mandated to source their beneficiaries from the register.
The expert said that evidence shows that where the register has been effectively implemented, targeting has become easier and more transparent.
