President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared 2026 as the "Year of Families and Social Development," placing the family unit at the centre of Nigeria's national development strategy.
The declaration signals a major policy shift aimed at addressing poverty, insecurity and social instability through stronger household and community structures.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, noting that the declaration followed President Tinubu's recent visit to Türkiye, where he signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation on family cohesion and social welfare systems.
According to the minister, the agreement is expected to guide reforms in social services, child protection and community support frameworks across the country.
President Tinubu said the initiative aligns Nigeria with countries such as Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, which have adopted family-focused governance models to drive long-term development.
"Strengthening families forms the foundation for sustainable economic growth, national security and social cohesion," the President 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," he added.
The statement noted that the policy direction signals a structural reordering of government priorities, with ministries, departments and agencies expected to align programmes and budgets toward household welfare and social protection.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the administration has moved beyond rhetoric and is already implementing practical measures to support the President's commitment, adding that the government plans to institutionalise coordinated family policies nationwide.
She announced plans for a proposed Nigeria Families First Programme (NFFP), which will serve as the primary platform for implementing family-focused interventions. The programme is designed to ease economic pressures on households, improve child welfare and enhance social stability.
According to the minister, the NFFP will promote economic empowerment through support for sustainable livelihoods, strengthen parenting skills through education and training, expand child-focused social protection measures, and improve access to healthcare, housing and professional care services.
She added that the initiative forms part of the administration's broader Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions, a nine-pillar framework targeting improved outcomes for women and children. The framework aligns with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the global blueprint for advancing gender equality and child welfare.
The statement explained that the approach seeks to ensure social interventions in health, education, housing and employment begin at the household level, rather than through fragmented programmes.
It noted that the success of the initiative will depend on effective coordination among federal, state and local governments, as well as sustained funding and robust monitoring mechanisms.
If fully implemented, the Tinubu administration believes the family-centred strategy could help reduce poverty, strengthen social safety nets and tackle some of the root causes of insecurity nationwide.
With the 2026 designation, the government is expected to roll out detailed action plans and partnerships in the coming months to translate the policy into measurable benefits for Nigerian families.