Social protection, structural reforms must go hand in hand for lasting impact – CPPE

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has urged the federal government to complement its expanding social protection programmes with far-reaching structural reforms, warning that cash transfers and other welfare interventions alone cannot deliver sustainable poverty reduction or inclusive economic growth.

 

In a policy brief on the federal government’s newly launched $3.05 billion Social Intervention Programme, Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, said social protection and structural reforms should be pursued as complementary policy instruments to ensure that ongoing economic reforms translate into lasting improvements in the welfare of Nigerians.

 

“Social protection and structural reforms should therefore be viewed as complementary policy instruments. Effective social interventions cushion vulnerable households during economic adjustment, while structural reforms create the conditions for higher productivity, stronger private investment, sustainable income growth, and durable poverty reduction,” he said.

 

Yusuf’s intervention comes days after President Bola Tinubu unveiled a coordinated package of five social development programmes backed by the World Bank and other development partners. 

 

The initiatives include the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Additional Financing (NG-CARES AF), the Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons and Host Communities (SOLID) Programme, and the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) programmes covering governance, primary healthcare and education.

 

The programmes, valued at more than $3.05 billion, are designed to reduce poverty, strengthen human capital development, improve healthcare and education outcomes, support vulnerable households and boost economic resilience.

 

While commending the initiative as a timely intervention, Yusuf stressed that its long-term success would depend less on the size of the funding than on how effectively it is implemented.

 

According to him, programme design must reflect Nigeria’s institutional realities, minimise leakages and political capture, and ensure that support reaches intended beneficiaries efficiently, transparently and at scale.

 

He also advised policymakers to adapt international development models to Nigeria’s unique socio-economic conditions rather than replicating them without adequate contextualisation.

 

“The effectiveness of the initiative, however, will depend on implementation,” he said.

 

Beyond implementation, the CPPE boss argued that social intervention programmes must be embedded within a broader framework of structural economic reforms if they are to produce enduring results.

 

He noted that while cash transfers and similar interventions could cushion vulnerable households against the immediate social costs of economic adjustment, they should not be seen as substitutes for reforms that tackle the root causes of poverty.

 

According to Yusuf, persistent insecurity, high food inflation, weak agricultural productivity, inadequate infrastructure and elevated production costs remain some of the most significant barriers to inclusive growth and shared prosperity.

 

He maintained that addressing these structural challenges is essential to creating productive jobs, stimulating private investment and improving Nigeria’s economic competitiveness.

 

Yusuf further observed that the Federal Government’s broader reform agenda has already delivered notable improvements in key macroeconomic indicators, including stronger fiscal transparency, improved exchange-rate stability, healthier external reserves and renewed investor confidence.

 

However, he argued that these gains would only be meaningful if they translated into lower inflation, higher productivity, increased employment opportunities and rising household incomes.

 

“The enduring test of any reform programme is its ability to improve living standards through lower inflationary pressures, higher productivity, stronger employment and rising household incomes,” Yusuf stated.

 

He described the new social intervention package as an important transition from a reform agenda focused primarily on macroeconomic stabilisation to one aimed at inclusive economic transformation.

 

According to him, social protection enhances not only the welfare of vulnerable citizens but also strengthens the legitimacy and sustainability of economic reforms by ensuring that their benefits are visible and widely shared.

 

The CPPE therefore called for rigorous implementation, transparent governance, effective beneficiary targeting and measurable performance indicators to ensure the programme delivers tangible improvements in living standards.

 

Yusuf added that sustained poverty reduction would ultimately depend on maintaining the balance between immediate social support and long-term structural reforms capable of expanding economic opportunities, improving productivity and fostering broad-based prosperity.