From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani has assured that his administration will continue to develop creative and innovative strategies to pull citizens of the State out of poverty.
To this end, the Governor announced his administration’s three flagship social protection programmes for children, aged and women in rural areas of the State.
The Governor who stated this on Tuesday while addressing the maiden Kaduna State Social Protection Summit at Umaru Musa Yar’adua Hall said, his government has impacted on the lives of the citizens through, “our social protection programmes, but there is room for improvement”.
According to Governor Sani, “We must continue to refine our processes and come up with creative and innovative strategies to pull our citizens out of poverty.
“Since we assumed office in May 2023, we have placed high premium on bringing succour to the poor, vulnerable and the underserved in Kaduna State. We have been carrying out pro-poor measures to bring needed relief to our citizens.
“Few days after I took the oath of office, I signed an Executive Order on Financial Inclusion to address the exclusion of the poor, under-served and vulnerable from financial services and ensure that they benefit from social intervention programs of Kaduna State and the Federal Government.
“The aim is to empower people with tools like savings accounts, credit, insurance, and digital payment options, enabling them to participate in the formal financial system, manage their finances, and build economic resilience.
“We set for ourselves the target of facilitating the opening of 2.5 million bank accounts for poor, vulnerable and underserved citizens of Kaduna State. Through our efforts, 2 million bank accounts have been opened. We are working assiduously to ensure that bank accounts are opened for the remaining 500,000 less privileged citizens of Kaduna State.
“I also signed into law the State Social Security Bill and the Kaduna State Social Investment Programmes Bill which created an agency to coordinate all national and sub-national social protection interventions in the State.
“We have developed a credible Social Register for Social Intervention Programs. Because of the effective implementation of the Executive Order on Financial Inclusion, especially the opening of bank accounts and development of a credible Social Register, our previously excluded citizens are now able to benefit from Kaduna State and Federal Government’s social intervention programs”.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Social Investment, Bridget Suleiman Adamu stressed that the summit was aimed at providing a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue.
According to her, the summit is not merely a gathering; it is an opportunity for all stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions about the strategies that will shape the future of social protection in Kaduna State.
“We can create systems that are more effective, more inclusive, and better aligned with the needs of our people. By leveraging financial inclusion and the social register. We seek to generate far-reaching recommendations that will accelerate the adoption and utilization of social protection.
“These recommendations are not intended to be mere words on paper; they represent actionable steps that, when implemented, will lead to a more robust and responsive social protection system”. She said.