From Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
A bill seeking to establish the Social Welfare Service of Nigeria to combat extreme poverty and strengthen social protection systems has passed its first reading in the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North and Chairman of the Senate Committee on the South-East Development Commission, was read for the first time during Thursday’s plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish the Social Welfare Service to Reduce Extreme Poverty among Vulnerable Groups and Implement Social Protection Systems and Measures in Nigeria and for Related Matters,” the proposed legislation seeks to institutionalise structured welfare programmes targeted at the country’s poorest citizens.
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According to the provisions of the bill obtained by the SUN, the Social Welfare Service will periodically design and implement social welfare programmes aimed at addressing chronic poverty in both rural and urban areas.
The service will engage in schemes that enable poor individuals and households to graduate from poverty rather than remain dependent on aid.
The proposed law outlines key functions of the Service, including the development of mechanisms to better target benefits for the poor, coordination of safety centres across states, and establishment of a monitoring and evaluation unit to assess progress, beneficiaries, and the sustainability of programmes.
The bill also proposes that the Service maintains registers of both beneficiaries and graduates from social welfare programmes, ensuring continuous tracking of progress and long-term impact. In addition, it calls for the creation of a sustainable development programme to prevent beneficiaries who have exited poverty from falling back into deprivation.
Under the bill, beneficiaries will be selected using criteria such as households earning less than ₦5,000 monthly, temporary workers earning less than ₦3,000 per job, households lacking productive assets, and families engaged in low-income professions like subsistence farming, fishing, plumbing, or welding. Those living in slum areas with poor sanitation and no access to potable water are also eligible.
The proposed legislation also sets out clear prerequisites for participation in the welfare programmes, including residency within the service area and, for employable individuals, the physical and mental capacity for laborious work.
Senator Kalu’s bill reflects growing concern within the National Assembly over Nigeria’s rising poverty levels and the need for institutional frameworks that go beyond short-term interventions.
If passed into law, the Social Welfare Service Act will create a national structure for targeted poverty reduction, social protection, and sustainable livelihood development marking a major step toward addressing one of Nigeria’s most persistent socioeconomic challenges.
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