Nigeria’s frontline role in building inclusive and accountable systems aimed at tackling poverty took the centre stage at the second World Summit for Social Development held in Doha, Qatar.
The National Coordinator of the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Dr. Funmi Olotu, who represented Nigeria during the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty — a high-level dialogue, which brought together Heads of State, Ministers, and global development experts, shared strategies for accelerating progress on poverty eradication and hunger reduction.
In her speech, Dr. Olotu outlined Nigeria’s evolving approach towards strengthening social protection systems through credible data, institutional coordination, and results-oriented investments that would ensure availability of resources to those who need them most.
She highlighted the National Social Register (NSR) as one of the most comprehensive social protection databases in the world, providing evidence-based inclusive policy planning and targeted intervention delivery.
She said: “In Nigeria, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has placed poverty eradication and food security at the centre of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“We believe that ending poverty is not achieved by spending more, but by spending better, through coordinated systems that ensure every investment delivers measurable impact for the poor and vulnerable.
“Through the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office, Nigeria has built one of Africa’s most robust and transparent social protection systems.
“At the core of this architecture is the National Social Register (NSR), which is a dynamic and data-driven platform that captured the identities of more than 70 million individuals and over 19 million households across Nigeria, making it one of the largest social registers in the world.”
Dr. Olotu emphasised that, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu administration, Nigeria had been deepening fiscal and institutional capacity to deliver measurable and lasting impact across social programmes.
The NASSCO boss’ contribution resonated with the participants at the summit, who pledged further support for Nigeria to deliver practical results, while positioning the country as a regional champion in strengthening social protection system.
“Our focus is not only to lift households out of poverty today, but to prevent them from falling back tomorrow. That is why we are integrating social protection with digital identity systems through the National Identification Number (NIN) and livelihood empowerment initiatives, ensuring that safety
nets evolve into pathways for productivity, resilience, and economic inclusion. Nigeria’s experience shows that when governments invest in credible data, coordination, and political will, fiscal space expands not only in budgets, but in possibilities,” Olotu said.
The summit offered a platform for Nigeria to share its progress and reaffirm its commitment to global collaboration in addressing poverty and vulnerability through sustainable, country-led approaches.
Through NASSCO’s coordination, Nigeria continues to demonstrate that credible data, coordinated systems, and accountable governance are the strongest foundations for eradicating poverty and ensuring that no one is left behind.
