Tackling Political Barriers to Effective Social Assistance in Nigeria

<p dir="ltr">This Policy Briefing is intended for international development and humanitarian partners working on social assistance policy and programming in Nigeria. It synthesises emerging lessons from research conducted by the Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research programme, predominantly in the northeastern region of the country (which comprises Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states). The Briefing showcases how social assistance provided by partners and other actors is strongly shaped by entrenched as well as evolving political economy challenges. These include systemic corruption, clientelism, the politicisation of aid, and fragmented responses, resulting in widespread exclusion and a growing deficit in trust between public authorities and citizens. Despite these challenges, opportunities are identified to strengthen coordination and communication involving government, development partners and citizens, and to encourage the uptake of evidence to improve targeting, with government actors at the forefront of change.</p>