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The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has charged the Federal Government to seek public support for its newly unveiled Social Intervention Programmes.
A policy brief signed by the Chief Executive Director of the centre, Dr Muda Yusuf, stated that “public support is more likely to endure when the benefits of reform are visible, inclusive and widely shared. Social protection, therefore, enhances not only social welfare but also the political credibility and sustainability of the reform agenda.”
The programme comprises five flagship interventions: the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Additional Financing (NG-CARES AF), Solutions for Internally Displaced and Host Communities Programme (SOLID), and the three Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) programmes—HOPE-GOV, HOPE-PHC and HOPE-EDU.
The centre posited that the programmes signal an important shift in the reform agenda: from restoring macroeconomic stability to ensuring that the benefits of reform translate into improved welfare, greater inclusion and shared prosperity.
According to CPPE, there is a broad consensus that the administration’s economic reforms have substantially strengthened macroeconomic fundamentals.
However, it argued that macroeconomic stability, while necessary, is not sufficient, stating that 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.
According to CPPE, the effectiveness of the initiative will depend on implementation, adding that the 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.
It posited that international development models should be adapted to local conditions rather than replicated without contextualisation.
The centre also stressed the need to situate social interventions within a broader structural reform framework.
It stated that cash transfers and related programmes can mitigate the immediate social costs of adjustment, adding that they cannot substitute for reforms that address the structural drivers of poverty.
The centre argued that insecurity, high food inflation, weak agricultural productivity, inadequate infrastructure and elevated production costs remain fundamental constraints to inclusive growth.
“Sustainable poverty reduction ultimately depends on expanding productive employment and improving economic competitiveness.
“Social protection and structural reforms should, therefore, be viewed as complementary policy instruments,” the centre stated.
It argued that 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.
However, it posited that the programme marks an important progression from macroeconomic stabilisation to inclusive economic transformation, adding that the overriding priority now is rigorous implementation, transparent governance, effective targeting and measurable outcomes.
