Sokoto State Government has unveiled its 9-Point Smart Agenda and launched the 2025 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report, a landmark document that stands as the first official publication of the Sokoto State Bureau of Statistics since its establishment in 2013.
Gatekeepers News reports that the event, held at the Deputy Governor’s Conference Hall, Government House, Sokoto, marked a decisive shift from perception-based governance to evidence-led, data-driven development.
Speaking at the unveiling, the Deputy Governor, Idris Mohammed Gobir, who also chairs the Steering Committee of the 9-Point Smart Agenda, described the twin documents as the administration’s covenant with the people of Sokoto.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government and Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Muhammad Bello Sifawa, the Deputy Governor noted that the 9-Point Agenda, built on Security, Religious Affairs, Economic Development, Education, Healthcare, Agriculture, Water Supply, Youth Empowerment, and Local Government Autonomy, is already delivering tangible results.
“Seventy percent (70%) of the 2026 budget allocation is dedicated to infrastructure,” he stated. “This is the kind of transparent, accountable governance we promised. Today, we move from perception to evidence.”
In a significant revelation, the 2025 MPI Report was unveiled as the maiden official publication of the Sokoto State Bureau of Statistics, a Bureau established twelve years ago in 2013 but which had never before produced its own standalone poverty index.
The report, described as a “scientific compass,” provides for the first time credible, data-backed insights into where poverty lives in Sokoto, how deep it is, and what drives it.
Key findings include that insecurity fuels deprivation in LGAs like Tangaza and Binji, where it correlates strongly with poverty; metropolitan LGAs record a hidden urban employment crisis with high deprivation; and nearly one-third of the population is “asset-rich but cash-poor,” described as the “transient poor” trapped by seasonal liquidity challenges.
The success of both documents was attributed to the leadership of the Commissioner, Abubakar Mohammed Zayyana, and the Statistician General, Abdullahi Abdulrahman Shagari, who spearheaded the production of the MPI Report and contributed to shaping the evidence base for the 9-Point Smart Agenda.
In his remarks, Shagari disclosed: “In 2022, the National MPI assessed the intensity of poverty in Sokoto at 91%. Governor Ahmed Aliyu took those numbers seriously and enacted massive reforms. By 2025, our state-owned MPI survey – conducted with Redwire Consulting and strong UNDP support – shows that poverty intensity has declined to 41%. This is a direct result of the administration’s social protection policies and targeted interventions.”
He further explained that the report’s “Dual-Lens” analysis distinguishes between structural poverty and transient cash poverty, allowing for targeted solutions such as infrastructure for the chronically poor and seasonal cash support for the transient poor.
Delivering the welcome address, the Director of Planning, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Sani Abdullahi, said the documents would transform decision-making in the state.
“We will no longer guess where to build a school, drill a borehole, or site a clinic,” he said. “The 9-Point Agenda gives us the framework; the MPI Report gives us the map. Together, they replace guesswork with geometry – clear targets, measurable indicators, and accountable outcomes.”
In goodwill messages, development partners including United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Development Programme, the Development Research and Projects Centre Nigeria, and the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations commended the Sokoto State Government, noting that it is the first state in Northern Nigeria to conduct and launch its own sub-national Multidimensional Poverty Index Report.
The occasion was witnessed by the Deputy Chairman II of the Committee and Chief of Staff, Government House Sokoto, Aminu Haliru Dikko, members of the State Executive Council, permanent secretaries, chief executive officers of state agencies, and senior civil servants.
With the unveiling of the 9-Point Smart Agenda and the maiden MPI Report, the Sokoto State Government said it has strengthened its commitment to evidence-based governance, focusing on measurable outcomes and targeted interventions to address poverty across the state.
