Sokoto Government Enforces a Unified Certificate of Origin Across All 23 Local Government Areas

The Sokoto State Government has officially announced a major policy shift aimed at strengthening documentation standards and ensuring consistency in identity verification across the state. The administration has confirmed that only the Unified Certificate of Origin/Indigene will now be accepted as the legitimate and authorised proof of origin throughout all 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Sokoto State.

This new directive was made public through a formal statement endorsed by Aminu Bello Gwadabawa, the Permanent Secretary of the Careers and Counselling Department under the Cabinet Office. He issued the announcement on behalf of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), highlighting the government’s intention to bring uniformity and integrity to its record-keeping processes.

According to the statement, the state government is deeply concerned about the continuous variations found in the certificates of origin issued by different local councils. These inconsistencies have created gaps in documentation, making verification processes unreliable.
Gwadabawa explained that the irregularities found in the previous format of certificates “distort the government’s efforts toward having a unified documentation process and ultimately weaken the integrity, credibility, and authenticity of official records used for indigene and citizenship verification.”

He emphasised that adopting a single, standardised indigene certificate will help eliminate discrepancies, discourage fraudulent claims of origin, and enhance trust in government-issued documents. The move is also designed to support administrative efficiency, simplify screening exercises, and ensure that all local governments adhere to a consistent verification standard.

The announcement further indicates that all government institutions, departments, private organisations, and educational bodies within Sokoto State are expected to comply strictly with this new rule. Any certificate of origin issued outside the approved unified format will no longer be recognised as valid for official purposes.