The Lagos State Government has hinted of plans to increase its budgetary allocation for social protection intervention from N130 billion in 2025 to N170 billion in 2026, thus reiterating its commitment to the welfare of vulnerable residents across the state.
Giving this hint was Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo-Olu who spoke at a one-day stakeholders’ engagement themed ‘Advancing Social Protection through the National Social Register (NSR): A Resilient Tool for a Resilient Nigeria’, held in Lagos, recently, said the theme 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.
According to him, Lagos has domesticated the operations of the NSR under the supervision of the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ope George, and the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Olayinka Ojo, to ensure all residents, particularly the vulnerable, are captured.
‘Governor Sanwo-Olu remains dedicated to improving the lives of Lagosians, especially the most vulnerable. The state has strengthened the NSR to guarantee that no one is left behind in social protection programmes’, Egube said.
‘I think, generally speaking, we always understand how we are in a society that’s mutually dependent on one another. What that means for us in Lagos is that we must act together. We must put our hands together to lead Lagos forward. It’s a collaboration between the government and the private sector and everybody is actually putting their hands together. And it’s the reason why, even though we have about 25 million people, the state continues to thrive. It’s the reason the agenda for the second term of the government was THEME++. That even though social protection was embedded in it in the first term, we wanted to actually emphasise it in the second term. It’s about our people. It’s about consideration for all people. It’s about not leaving anyone behind. It’s about social inclusion and integration.
‘But there are deliberate steps which we are taking in selecting those who are required to be supported all the time. You can see the attendance all the way to the Minister for Finance. About four governors or five governors were here in person or represented. It shows the keenness of which we look at the protection which Mr. President is trying to drive. Mr. President, in putting two major policies on the table for the well-being of the economic situation in Nigeria, is also stimulating the outcome, the fallout of it. Because while we have very strong economic initiatives in those policies, they are setting fallouts in the humanitarian side that we must also take into account for’.
Speaking on the sidelines of the stakeholders’ engagement interface, Egube shared interesting insights on the social protection proposition by the state government. ‘Like I said during Mr. Governor’s speech, it’s decentralised in Lagos, but centrally coordinated by the Social Protection Coordinating Department under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget. But there are over 22 agencies that are intervening on the streets on the social protection side. The idea is that we are very close to the people and we are intervening in different ways. But that entire intervention is coordinated also centrally for impact and for accuracy and validity. So you see the Ministry of Women Affairs, you see the Ministry of Youths, you see the Office of the SDGs, you see the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, you see a variety of them, the Ministry of Wealth Creation and so on and so forth.
‘As I mentioned, we have 22 of them because it’s important that we are with our people. Governance is really about the people eventually. We might talk about economic growth in GDP terms, but the well-being of our people is crucial to us and we must monitor it all the way to the ground’.
Mr. Egube, who also received the Champion of Care Award for Social Protection Implementation in Nigeria on behalf of the governor, commended President Bola Tinubu for repositioning the NSR as a credible platform for delivering interventions.
Also speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of the National Social Safety-Net Coordinating Office, Ms. Funmi Olotu, revealed that the NSR has become one of the largest social protection databases globally, with over 19 million heads of households and individual members captured. She added that the integration of the National Identification Number (NIN) had made the system more reliable and inclusive.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, Dr. Badamasi Lawal, stressed the necessity of social protection in Nigeria’s current economic climate.
‘Social protection is not a choice but a necessity, given the realities of today’, he stated.
Also lending his voice, the Alara of Ilara Kingdom, HRH Dr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, emphasised that social protection should be viewed as a duty of the state and society, rather than an act of benevolence.
The engagement drew participants from federal and state governments, civil society organisations, development agencies, traditional institutions, Community Development Associations, and senior officials of the Lagos State Executive Council.
The National Coordinator, National Social Safety-Net Coordinating Office, Ms. Funmi Olotu said that the register had become one of the world’s largest social protection databases with more than 19 million households captured.
She said that the recent integration of the National Identification Number (NIN) into the register was transforming it into a more reliable and inclusive system.
‘As of 31 August 2025, a total of 7.68 million household records had been updated across the 36 states.
‘From these, over 9.5 million NINs were recorded, with more than 8.3 million successfully validated’, Olotu said.
She described the achievement as remarkable.
‘The real story behind the numbers is that mothers in rural areas, displaced households and young Nigerians seeking opportunities are beginning to see a government that recognises their struggles and is deliberate about supporting them’, she said.
In his goodwill message, the Alara of Ilara Kingdom, Dr Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, said that social protection should be seen as a duty of the state and society rather than an act of benevolence.
‘Giving to the poor is not charity, it is social responsibility’, he said.
The royal father said that Nigeria’s social contract must be anchored on inclusiveness, adding that vulnerable citizens should not look like beggars but rightful beneficiaries of public policy.
‘When government supports the less privileged through a credible system like the National Social Register, it is fulfilling its moral and constitutional responsibility.
‘We must change our mindsets and treat social protection as an obligation’, Ogunsanwo said.
He said that the traditional institution would continue to partner with governments in ensuring that households in rural communities would benefit from social protection schemes.
A senator representing Lagos West, Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule, described the register as a collective commitment to building a more inclusive, equitable, and resilient platform.
She stated that the gathering marks a critical step in the government’s desire to reach the poor and vulnerable population in Nigeria.
She emphasised that NSR, is not merely a database but the backbone of the nation’s capacity to deliver aid with transparency, monitoring, and respect for human dignity.
The highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of awards to some deserving recipients.
Governor Sanwo-Olu was amongst the honorees, with Egube, receiving the award on his behalf.
According to the organisers, the governor was recognised for setting new standards in social protection governance by implementing numerous people-centred programmes, strengthening inclusion and expanding the safety net for millions and for his unwavering commitment to social protection and exceptional responsiveness to the needs of the people of Lagos. His leadership sets a swinging example of governance that truly cares about the people.
Nasarawa state Governor Abdullahi Sule also received the Social Protection Leadership Award for his unwavering commitment to inclusive governance, just as Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State, and a host of others.
