By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – IN a bid to give citizens a sense of belonging and better welfare, the European Union, EU, and ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, have unveiled the European Union Support for Strengthening Social Protection in Nigeria, ESSPIN,  $2.5million project to boost social protection for Nigerians.

ActionAid expressed optimism that the three-year ESSPIN project will improve social protection programmes across the country following an investment of about $2.5million, and it is expected to be implemented in 96 local government areas in Abia, Benue, Oyo, and Sokoto States, with 126,000  people comprising  of 69,301 women are expected to be reached within the duration of the project.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Dr Atiku Bagudu, a Director in the Ministry, Dr Sampson Ebimaro represented explained that the objective of the initiative was to address existing gaps in the National Social Protection Register, therefore, the project will consolidate on lessons learned from earlier initiatives while strengthening community resilience by promoting efficient and responsive social protection network systems in selected pilot states.

The Minister also said the project is expected to bridge gaps within the Nigeria Social Protection Policy, and he added that, “From the sense of economic development, we cannot continue to do social protection forever. Nigeria should be moving to the era of development and investment. 

“We can’t continue to do handout and humanitarian. Yes, the challenges will be there, but we can’t continue to remain there. We must leave that point to begin to emphasize on development and investment.”

Meanwhile, he (Bagudu) commended the EU, ActionAid and other development partners for the initiative, and pledged support and commitment of his Ministry towards a successful and sustainable delivery of the programme.

In her speech, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said, “A nation is ultimately measured not by the size of its economy, but by the strength of its social protection systems, the stability of its families, and the dignity accorded to its most vulnerable citizens. Where these foundations are weak, inequality deepens and fragility spreads; where they are strong, societies become resilient, inclusive, and prosperous.

“It is, therefore, a privilege to join development partners, civil society actors, and stakeholders at the launch of the ESSPIN Project, organized by ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with the European Union. This initiative is both timely and strategic, as it reinforces our collective commitment to strengthening social protection systems and advancing human dignity across Nigeria. 

“The urgency of this work cannot be overstated. Over 133 million Nigerians are currently multidimensionally poor, while millions more remain vulnerable to economic shocks, climate pressures, displacement, and rising inequality. Women and children bear the greatest burden of these realities, particularly through unpaid care work that sustains households and communities yet remains largely invisible and undervalued within formal economic systems.”

In her remarks, the representative of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS Chioma Osuji, revealed that the project is part of the European Union’s $46 million support to Nigeria’s social protection system under the 2021–2027 Multi-Annual Indicative Programme.

“The $2.5 million project was signed in December and is expected to run for three years, from 2026 to 2028. The project seeks to increase public trust and participation in the National Social Register process, promote improved inter-agency collaboration, and enhance the effectiveness and utilization of the National Social Register”, Osuji added.

Meanwhile, the Country Director, ActionAid, Dr Andrew Mamedu, in his opening remarks made it known that ActionAid will also work with their local partners including Okaha Women and Children Development Organisation, OWACDO, and the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, CCD, to implement the project at the community level.

He mentioned that the ESSPIN project has establish 16 Social Register  Action  Teams (SoRAT) who will serve as independent citizen oversight structures within the social protection system.  

The ESSPIN project according  to him pursues two goals, including rebuilding public trust  in the  National Social Register and strengthening the coordination and accountability systems that determine how it is used. 

“We tell that story today not to revisit old grievances, but to make a simple point about who ActionAid Nigeria is. We are not an organisation that simply implements reports and moves on. We are an organisation that holds the line on accountability, even when that is uncomfortable. And it is with that same commitment, to rigour, to transparency, and to the rights of the people we serve, that we enter the ESSPIN project. 

“The hard lessons of our NSIP experience were woven into how we designed ESSPIN: independent community structures that generate their own evidence, clear grievance mechanisms, and a deliberate insistence on keeping citizen oversight at the centre. The SoRATs (Social Register Action Teams) we will establish under ESSPIN are, in many ways, the institutional response to what was missing before”, Mamedu added.