By Chinedu Echianu
The Sokoto State House of Assembly has pledged to enact legislation to strengthen social protection and ensure adequate support for persons with disabilities, women, children and other vulnerable groups in the state.
Speaker of the Assembly, Tukur Bala-Bodinga, gave the commitment in Abuja during a two-day legislative capacity-building workshop on Budget Scrutiny, Fiscal Accountability, Digital Oversight and Social Protection Coherence for members of the Assembly.
Bala-Bodinga said the proposed legislation would provide a legal framework for extending government assistance to vulnerable persons who require social and economic support.
He also disclosed that the Assembly had amended its Standing Orders to accommodate the establishment of a Committee on Social Protection, headed by the Majority Leader, to strengthen legislative oversight and promote effective implementation of social protection programmes.
The workshop is being organised under the Supporting Sustainable Social Protection Systems in Nigeria Project, with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), ActionAid Nigeria, the European Union (EU) and other development partners stepping up efforts to ensure that social protection receives adequate budgetary allocations at both federal and state levels.
The project seeks to strengthen the legal, financial and data frameworks necessary for effective and sustainable social protection delivery in Nigeria.
The capacity-building workshop is also designed to equip lawmakers with the knowledge and skills required to scrutinise public budgets, promote fiscal accountability and ensure that social protection priorities are reflected in government spending.
