Sokoto State Government has declared that only the Unified Certificate of Origin/Indigene will be recognised as the official proof of origin across all 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
The directive was contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Careers and Counselling Department, Cabinet Office, Aminu Bello Gwadabawa, on behalf of the Secretary to the State Government.
According to the statement, the government is concerned about the persistent lack of uniformity in certificates of origin issued by different local councils.
Gwadabawa noted that such inconsistencies “undermine the State Government’s efforts to standardise documentation and threaten the integrity, credibility, and reliability of official records relating to citizenship and indigene verification.”
The unified certificate was introduced as a single, harmonised document “to curb the circulation of forged or unverified attestations, streamline identification processes, and ensure uniformity in matters relating to employment, scholarships, admissions, recruitment, and other official engagements,” the statement added.
The government directed all federal and state ministries, departments, parastatals, boards, commissions, military and paramilitary agencies, local government councils, schools, and tertiary institutions to recognise only the new document.
Gwadabawa emphasised that the unified certificate “supersedes and replaces all previous versions issued by any Local Government Authority,” warning that individuals who fail to present the approved document “should, with due courtesy, not be processed or attended to for any official transaction that requires proof of origin.”
He urged heads of institutions, departments, and agencies to ensure strict compliance and to brief their staff accordingly.
