expected impact on poverty reduction. It documents the policy elements of the 2017 social protection programme of the Federal Government – considered the most comprehensive, and makes recommendations towards its successful implementation. What is Social Protection? Policy makers, academics and practitioners have often used social protection as the same thing with such terms as welfare, social security, safety nets or social insurance mechanism. While these terms might be part of the social protection, none of them standing alone can be said to mean social protection. Social protection can be viewed broadly as all public and private initiatives that provide income or consumption transfers to the poor, protect the vulnerable against destitution, and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalised; with the overall objective of reducing the economic and social vulnerability of the poor and marginalised groups(Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler, 2004). 02