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Imo State, situated in the South East geopolitical region of Nigeria, is one of the few States in the region that is considered as an oil producing State and as such benefits from special allocations from the Federal Government derivation funds. In spite of its status as oil producing State, successive governments of Imo State have consistently expressed the desire to achieve a diversified economy that is largely driven by the private sector. There have been policy drives towards facilitating the transformation of the largely subsistence businesses that operate in the informal sector to migrate to the formal sector and operate as formal business entities. These economic policies however expose insufficiencies in corresponding social policies that should provide sustainable nets to cover for the inherent social hazards. In addition to these, the declared ambitions of successive governments to systematically reduce the discrepancies between the different segments of the populations have not been accompanied by realistic measures – such sustainable social security – that are characteristic in the reduction of social and economic discrepancies. In as much as some segments of the population that are employed by the Federal and State Governments and some economic entities in the oil and gas sectors enjoy some form of social security, a substantial portion of the populations still live out of the coverage of any formal social net.

It is within this background that Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is organizing a one-day round table meeting for critical stakeholders of the social security ecosystem in Imo State to empower them to effectively position the provision of sustainable social security on the political agenda of the State ahead of the general elections in 2019. The seminar is expected to facilitate the creation of a “Forum of Opinion Leaders/Moulders Advocating the Establishment of a Functional and Sustainable Social Security System” in Imo State. Participants will include about fifteen critical and influential leaders and multipliers from Political Parties, Business Association, Chamber of Commerce, Employers' Association, Labour Unions, Teachers Associations, Women's Associations, Youth Associations; professional bodies such as Bar Association, Medical Association, Nigeria Union of Journalists; representatives of government agencies, religious and traditional institutions.