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By Correspondent in Minna.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced a partnership with the Niger State Government to develop a result-oriented budget plan aimed at drastically reducing hunger and poverty among citizens across the state.
The UNICEF’s Social Policy Officer, Kaduna Office, Wakidara Akila, disclosed this on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a three-day capacity-building workshop for Local Government Directors of Planning, Research, and Statistics (DPRS) in Minna.
Our correspondent reports that the workshop was organized by the Niger State Planning Commission in collaboration with UNICEF.
Akila emphasized that one of the most critical steps in addressing hunger and poverty is for the government to align its budgetary processes with social protection priorities.
“We need to tie social protection to our budgets and ensure proper accountability for budgetary allocations and releases. If this is done, Niger State can, in the nearest future, become one of the most developed in Nigeria,” she said.
Akila added that past efforts to reduce poverty had failed largely due to systemic gaps and lack of targeted interventions.
Declaring the event open, the Permanent Secretary of the Planning Commission, Hajia Aisha Usman, said the workshop was designed to strengthen the capacity of DPRS officials to integrate social protection priorities into annual development plans at the local government level.
According to her, the success of social protection interventions depends on how well they are incorporated into planning, adequately budgeted for, monitored, and evaluated.
“Doing so will enable DPRS to prepare realistic and well-costed budgets that reflect the needs of the poor and vulnerable, mobilize resources beyond government allocations, and establish effective monitoring and evaluation systems that guarantee transparency, accountability, and measurable results,” she noted.
A facilitator at the workshop, Dr. Grace Atim, a Gender and Social Safeguard Specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed the pivotal role of local governments in implementing social protection programmes. She urged participants to prioritize identifying and costing such interventions in their budgets.
The three-day capacity-building programme is expected to enhance the knowledge and skills of DPRS officials across Niger State’s 25 LGAs in leading and coordinating social protection initiatives.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
