The Acting Governor of Oyo State, Barrister Abdulraheem Adebayo Lawal, on Monday, September 15, launched the Sustainable Social Protection Initiative in Nigeria (SUSI) for Oyo State.
The initiative, funded by the European Union (EU) with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as partners, seeks to bolster Oyo State’s social protection structures, ensuring more comprehensive coverage and aid for vulnerable groups across the state.
Oyo State is one of the four states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where the SUSI programme is being implemented.
Speaking at the launch, which took place at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Barrister Lawal said the initiative represents a landmark achievement in the collective quest to promote social inclusion, strengthen human capital, and advance sustainable development in Oyo State.
He stated: “In Oyo State, we have consistently prioritized social protection as a cornerstone of our governance agenda. Over the past few years, deliberate investments have been made to reduce poverty, expand healthcare coverage, and improve access to targeted social interventions.
“Notably, in the current year, we strengthened the State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU) to expand the social register, adding approximately 24,000 households, translating to more than 100,000 individuals who now stand eligible for one form of intervention or another.”
The Acting Governor added: “A flagship of these efforts is the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative. The SAfER initiative is one of Oyo State’s flagship social protection and economic resilience programmes, designed to cushion citizens from the socioeconomic shocks of the national reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidies, while promoting inclusive growth and human development.”
Barrister Lawal gave some of the accomplishments of the SAfER initiative as the distribution of food packages to over 200,000 households, including targeted support to security personnel and other critical groups, disbursement of ₦500 million in loans to small businesses and ₦1 billion in grants to strengthen food production and security.
Others are introduction of 46 subsidized buses to mitigate transportation costs for citizens, provision of free healthcare services to more than 40,000 pensioners and extension of health insurance coverage to an additional 150,000 vulnerable persons including prisoners and support to 1,000 poultry farmers and continued investment in the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP).
The Acting Governor said “the EU-SUSI initiative is expected to consolidate these gains and elevate our social protection framework to an even higher level of institutional maturity. The project will reinforce policy, legal, and financial mechanisms, embedding shock-responsive systems within both federal and state planning structures.”
According to him, the key deliverables include, the strengthening and expansion of the National Social Register to capture a greater proportion of poor and vulnerable citizens, enhanced technical capacity of policymakers and practitioners at both the national and subnational levels, the development and institutionalization of a comprehensive social protection policy and bill, thereby guaranteeing the right to social protection for legislative consideration at the national and state assemblies and a modernized Social Protection Management Information System, fully interoperable across relevant ministries, departments, and agencies.
Barrister Lawal urged the EU-SUSI project team to work in close alignment with Oyo State government institutions, civil society, and local communities to ensure the full and effective realization of the objectives of this initiative.
He said: “On behalf of the government and people of Oyo State, I extend our profound gratitude to the European Union and its implementing partners for this invaluable collaboration.
“We look forward with great anticipation to the transformative impact this initiative will have on the lives of our people.”
Earlier in his welcome address, Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Professor Musibau Babatunde, said the Sustainable Social Protection Initiative aligned with Governor Seyi Makinde’s Roadmap for Accelerated Development 2019-2023 and the Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027 with respect to social inclusion.
He added that the initiative would easily fit into the state’s programme because the state had already developed a social register.
In their goodwill messages, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, and Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs Toyin Balogun, while appreciating the EU team for considering Oyo State for the programme, expressed the readiness of the state for the scheme, saying the state is determined not to leave anyone behind in its developmental strides.
While giving her address, the Chief of UNICEF Field Office for the South West, Ms Celine Lafoucriere, emphasized the critical role of robust social protection systems in safeguarding the rights and well-being of vulnerable groups, adding that social protection is a vital mechanism for reducing poverty and promoting inclusive development.
She said with the EU’s support, and in collaboration with the ILO, UNICEF is committed to working with Oyo State to build a more resilient and effective social protection system.
The event was also attended by the Deputy Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Abiodun Fadeyi, who represented the Speaker; the Chairman, House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon Akintunde Emmanuel; the Secretary to Oyo State Government, Professor Olanike Adeyemo; Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Prof Solihu Abdulwaheed Adelabu; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon Demola Ojo; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Abiodun Aikomo; Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon Segun Olayiwola; Commissioner for Agriculture, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye; Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade; Executive Assistant to the Governor on Budget, Alhaji Gafar Bello; Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget and Economic Planning, Hon Simeon Oyeleke and Chairman of Local Government Chairmen, Hon Sikiru Sanda.
Others include Mr Guite Diop, Regional Project Manager, ILO; Zarema Yazhanova, Social Policy Manager, UNICEF Nigeria; Muhammad Okorie, Social Policy Manager, UNICEF; Emmanuel Danjuma, Project Manager, ILO, Abuja and Hope Oduma, Social Policy Officer, UNICEF.
