Barau Represents Vice President Shettima at North-West Policy Dialogue on Poverty Reduction
Barau Represents Vice President Shettima at North-West Policy Dialogue on Poverty Reduction
Barau Represents Vice President Shettima at North-West Policy Dialogue on Poverty Reduction
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin on Wednesday represented Vice President Kashim Shettima at the High-Level North-West Policy Dialogue held in Kano, where stakeholders discussed strategies for reducing multidimensional poverty through innovative financing and an expanded social protection system.
The dialogue brought together governors from the North-West region, federal ministers, traditional and religious leaders, development partners, and representatives of international organisations, including the European Union, UNICEF, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World Bank.
Delivering the Vice President’s address titled “The Arithmetic of Human Dignity,” Barau said the gathering provided an opportunity to chart a path towards improving the lives of millions of vulnerable Nigerians, particularly children, women, farmers, traders, and displaced persons.
According to the Vice President’s message, poverty should no longer be viewed solely as a lack of income but also as limited access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and opportunities for personal development.
He noted that the North-West remains a critical region in Nigeria’s economic and demographic landscape, with vast agricultural potential, commercial strength, and a youthful population. However, the region continues to face significant challenges, including high poverty rates, insecurity, poor health indicators, and a large number of out-of-school children.
The Vice President highlighted the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stressing that social protection remains a key pillar of the administration’s strategy to support vulnerable populations and reduce inequality.
He called for the establishment of sustainable social protection systems backed by credible social registers, transparent payment mechanisms, and reliable financing structures capable of surviving political transitions.
A major focus of the dialogue was the proposed Universal Child Benefit programme, which seeks to provide predictable support to families with children between the ages of zero and twelve. The initiative is expected to improve nutrition, school enrolment, healthcare access, and child welfare while reducing child labour and early marriage.
Shettima also urged leaders in the region to leverage traditional social welfare mechanisms such as Zakat and Waqf by integrating them into modern, transparent systems that deliver measurable social outcomes.
He challenged participants to ensure that discussions translate into concrete actions, including financing commitments, implementation frameworks, monitoring mechanisms, and stronger collaboration among federal and state governments as well as development partners.
“The measure of our leadership will not be the elegance of our speeches, but the number of children whose lives are changed by our decisions, the mothers who survive, the girls who remain in school, and the families protected from poverty and hardship,” the Vice President stated.
He assured stakeholders of the Federal Government’s commitment to working with states, traditional institutions, religious leaders, communities, and international partners to build a credible, scalable, and sustainable social protection system capable of addressing the region’s developmental challenges.
The dialogue was held under the theme, “Reducing Multidimensional Poverty through Innovative Financing and a Scaled Social Protection System.”
Barau Represents Vice President Shettima at North-West Policy Dialogue on Poverty Reduction
