Economy

Persistent poverty, limited human capital development, and weak social protection remain critical challenges in northern Nigeria, particularly in Sokoto State. Although Nigeria's Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programme under the National Social Investment Programme seeks to improve population well-being, its effectiveness has been constrained by irregular disbursements, weak monitoring systems, inadequate transfer amounts, and poor integration with education and health services. This study examined lessons from Brazil's Bolsa Família Programme to inform strategies for strengthening Nigeria's CCT Programme in Sokoto State. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining questionnaire data from 400 beneficiary households across four purposively selected Local Government Areas with programme reports and official records. The findings indicate that despite relatively high compliance with programme conditionalities, irregular payments, insufficient financial support, weak institutional coordination, and limited service delivery significantly undermine improvements in education, health and long-term poverty reduction. In contrast, Bolsa Família's effectiveness is attributed to predictable and adequate transfers, strong monitoring and evaluation systems, integration with public services, robust institutional coordination, and gender-sensitive targeting. The study recommended that strengthening payment regularity, monitoring mechanisms, service integration, governance, and policy continuity would enhance programme effectiveness, promote sustainable human capital development, reduce intergenerational poverty, and improve sustainable population well-being.