12.3 MILLION NIGERIANS LINKED TO SOCIAL REGISTER THROUGH NIN, SAYS NASSCO

The National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office has disclosed that more than 12.3 million Nigerians have been linked to the National Social Register using their National Identity Management Commission National Identification Numbers, as part of efforts to improve transparency and accountability in social intervention programmes.

The National Coordinator of NASSCO, Funmi Olotu, made this known on Thursday during a stakeholder engagement with local government chairmen in Abuja.

According to Olotu, the integration of NIN into the National Social Register is designed to improve data integrity, remove duplication, and ensure that government interventions reach the intended beneficiaries accurately.

She stated that the National Social Register currently covers more than 20 million households and over 77 million individuals across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Olotu revealed that across all 774 local government areas, 8,756 wards, and 217,777 communities, over 9.7 million household records have already been updated, while 11.5 million NINs have been successfully validated.

She added that the reforms align with Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and are aimed at building a more credible and accountable social protection system.

The NASSCO boss stressed that local governments remain central to the success of the programme because of their direct connection to grassroots communities.

Also speaking at the event, Olubunmi Olusanya described the National Social Register as a critical component of Nigeria’s poverty reduction framework.

He warned that vulnerable Nigerians without NIN integration could risk exclusion from government interventions and called on local authorities to support effective implementation of the programme nationwide.