By Blessing Elo Oghene
The Federal Government, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the German government, has launched a mobile service delivery initiative to address documentation challenges confronting millions of displaced and vulnerable Nigerians across 10 states.
The initiative, tagged “One Motor, Plenty Services,” involves the distribution of 10 specially equipped mobile one-stop-shop vehicles to selected state governments to provide identity registration, banking and social protection services in remote and underserved communities.
The intervention is designed to address the difficulties faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees and other vulnerable populations in obtaining essential documents, including National Identification Numbers (NIN), birth certificates and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
The mobile centres will also provide SIM registration, bank account opening and enrolment in the National Social Register.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, said the initiative was aimed at addressing the inability of millions of vulnerable Nigerians to access government services because of distance, displacement and lack of identification documents.
He said the government was shifting its approach to humanitarian intervention by taking essential services directly to underserved communities rather than expecting vulnerable citizens to travel long distances to access assistance.
According to him, the initiative demonstrates the Federal Government’s commitment to moving Nigerians beyond emergency relief and palliatives towards sustainable pathways out of poverty.
“For millions of our citizens, the problem is not merely that services do not exist. The problem is that those services most often do not reach them,” Doro said.
He illustrated the challenges with examples of a displaced woman unable to travel several hours to register her child’s birth, a young man in a remote community unable to open a bank account without a NIN, and a widow excluded from social protection because her name was missing from government databases.
“When people cannot reach essential services, we must bring those services directly to them,” he said.
Doro explained that the mobile centres would reduce the burden of visiting multiple government offices by making several essential services available in one location.
He stressed that identity documentation was central to poverty reduction, noting that people without recognised identification were often excluded from economic opportunities, government assistance and social protection programmes.
“ID is the first step out of poverty. You cannot be paid if you cannot be identified. You cannot be protected if you cannot be counted,” he said.
The minister, however, cautioned the beneficiary states against allowing the vehicles to become abandoned government assets, urging them to ensure proper maintenance, adequate security and regular deployment to communities in need.
“These units must not sit in government car parks. They must be fuelled, maintained, secured and kept on the road, reaching the last camp, the last village and the last family,” he said.
He disclosed that designated state focal persons would work with the ministry to monitor the vehicles’ deployment and assess their impact.
Doro also expressed hope that the programme would eventually expand from 10 mobile centres to 37, covering all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
In his remarks, the German Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Stefan Brossel, described the vehicles as mobile representations of government designed to bridge the gap between vulnerable citizens and essential public services.
He said the absence of accessible government offices in remote communities had left many Nigerians without vital documents, limiting their access to education, social support, telecommunications and financial services.
According to him, identity documentation goes beyond administrative requirements, as it establishes the connection between citizens and the state.
Brossel said Germany’s support was driven by the belief that no citizen should become invisible to the government because of displacement or geographical location.
He also highlighted the scale of displacement in Nigeria, noting that nearly three million people were displaced within the country, while more than 1.3 million others were displaced in the North-West and North-Central regions.
He added that approximately 140,000 refugees had found protection in Nigeria, mostly within host communities rather than camps.
The ambassador said the intervention would complement Germany’s wider support for humanitarian assistance, stabilisation and recovery efforts, particularly in the North-East, North-West and North-Central regions.
He expressed confidence that improved access to government services could strengthen trust, contribute to peace and stability, and reduce the vulnerability of displaced persons to trafficking, dangerous migration and recruitment by armed groups.
Brossel urged the implementing partners to measure the programme’s success by the number of people reached rather than the number of vehicles distributed.
“A year from now, I will be glad to meet again, not to count vehicles, but people: children with birth certificates, families in the social register, traders with their first bank account,” he said.
Also speaking, the UNHCR Representative in Nigeria, Arjun Jain, said the intervention was necessary given the scale of displacement and the difficulties government officials faced in reaching vulnerable populations.
Jain disclosed that officials had previously depended largely on personal vehicles to access remote communities, often without the equipment needed to provide documentation services.
He said the new mobile units would address the challenges by taking registration and documentation services directly to affected communities.
“Today, 3.7 million people are displaced inside Nigeria. If nothing changes, today’s internally displaced become tomorrow’s refugees,” he warned.
Jain explained that each vehicle was equipped with solar power, laptops, printers and other technological facilities required for biometric registration and documentation in areas with limited infrastructure and electricity supply.
The 10 beneficiary states are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Katsina, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
He said the initiative formed part of a broader effort to integrate humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction, while moving vulnerable populations towards stability and economic independence.
Jain urged the beneficiary states to provide the necessary personnel and resources to ensure the vehicles were regularly deployed to remote communities.
“The success of this initiative will be measured not by whether the cars are delivered to you, but by whether you deliver services to your communities, how operational they are, how regularly they travel to the field and how deeply they reach into remote communities,” he said.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Director for Nigeria and ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala, described the intervention as an investment in human dignity, inclusion and equal opportunities.
She said the absence of basic documentation could prevent children, young people and vulnerable families from accessing opportunities and essential services.
According to her, birth certificates, national identity numbers and access to financial services could open doors to education, employment and economic independence.
Phala said the mobile centres would bring birth registration, legal identity, financial services and social protection closer to women, children, persons with disabilities, displaced persons and host communities.
She added that the initiative would contribute to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty eradication, gender equality, reduced inequalities, stronger institutions and international partnerships.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Olubunmi Olusanya, described the intervention as a significant step towards addressing the difficulties displaced persons and other vulnerable populations face in accessing civil documentation and public services.
He urged the beneficiary states to demonstrate ownership by ensuring timely deployment, proper maintenance and security of the vehicles, as well as effective collaboration among relevant government agencies.
Earlier, the Dean of the Forum of Commissioners for Humanitarian Affairs of the 36 states and the FCT, Dr Helen Isamoh, described the initiative as timely, particularly for displaced persons, women, children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
She said access to identity documents, banking services and social protection databases was essential to restoring dignity, expanding economic opportunities and ensuring that vulnerable Nigerians were not excluded from government interventions.
Isamoh assured that the commissioners would support the programme through institutional ownership and sustainable mechanisms, while calling for stronger partnerships and eventual expansion to other states.
