Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina top list of poor, vulnerable individuals in Nigeria

By RASHEED SOBOWALE

The National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) has on Friday released the list of the National Social Register of Poor & Vulnerable Households by states, as Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina recorded the most individuals captured.

The Agency which is saddled with the responsibility of building a database of poor & vulnerable households & coordinates Social Protection programs in Nigeria said the “Register is available to be mined for COVID19 response measures targeting the poor & vulnerable.”

Zamfara State with 1,341,151 captured individuals took the lead compared to total individuals captured in other states. Likewise, Kebbi following behind with 932,460 individuals. Katsina was the third in line with 807,200 people captured.

However, clarifying the reason why some states like Ogun State and Ekiti State were missing on the list, NASSCO noted the states were yet to be captured and their respective governments are giving the process full support.

“The states yet to be captured like Ogun and Ebonyi are those still in the process of building their register. The govts of both states are giving the process full support,”

According to NASSCO, the National Social Register is “a gateway for registered poor and vulnerable households to access social interventions or welfare packages by the government, philanthropy, NGOs and/or businesses.

“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is using the list to reach the extreme poor with cash transfers.

“The cash transfer is currently paying 1 million poor and vulnerable households.”

The Agency also hinted that the Federal Government will be expanding the number of registered households from 2.6 million to 4 million by June 2020. (Vanguard)