President Bola Tinubu has designated 2026 as the year of families and social development.

The President explained that placing the family unit at the heart of Nigeria’s national development strategy was a major policy shift aimed at tackling poverty, insecurity and social instability.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, highlighted this in a statement on Friday, noting that the declaration was made at the State House in Abuja.

Tinubu said the move aligns Nigeria with countries like Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, which have adopted family-focused governance models to drive long-term development outcomes.

He said: “Strong families are a national security and development asset. Societies that invest in family stability reduce vulnerability and long-term instability. I hereby direct that the year 2026 be designated as the Year of Social Development and Families in Nigeria, with coordinated action across all arms and levels of government.”

The announcement follows Tinubu’s January state visit to Türkiye, where Nigeria signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation on family cohesion and social welfare systems.

The agreement is expected to guide reforms in social services, child protection and community support structures.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the administration has moved beyond rhetoric to implementing practical measures to back the President’s commitment.

She stated: “For social development, it is no longer business as usual, the government intends to institutionalise coordinated family policies nationwide.

“Central to the new agenda is the proposed Nigeria Families First Programme (NFFP), which will serve as the government’s primary platform for implementing family-focused interventions. The initiative is designed to address economic pressures on households and improve child welfare and social stability”.

The Minister further noted the programme will target economic empowerment of families by supporting sustainable livelihoods, enhancing parenting skills through education and training, introducing broader child-focused social protection measures, and improving access to healthcare, housing and professional care services.

She added that the initiative forms part of Tinubu’s administration’s wider “Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions,” a nine-pillar framework aimed at improving outcomes for women and children.

The framework is aligned with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, an international blueprint for advancing gender equality and child welfare.

The statement noted that the approach is also aimed at ensuring that interventions in health, education, housing and employment begin at the household level rather than through fragmented social programmes.

According to the Minister: “The success of the initiative will depend on effective coordination among federal, state and local governments, as well as sustained funding and monitoring.

“If fully implemented, the Tinubu administration believes the family-centred strategy could help reduce poverty, strengthen social safety nets and address some of the underlying drivers of insecurity across the country.”

Following the declaration, she said the government will roll out detailed action plans and partnerships in the coming months to translate the policy into measurable results for Nigerian families. (The Nation)

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