Headlines
AGILE Games 2025: Kano wins gold medals in Basketball, digital literacy
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State’s basketball team has won gold and bronze medals in boys and girls categories at 2025 AGILE Games held in Abuja.
KANO FOCUS reports that the men’s basketball team performed better as they finished tops to win gold ahead of Plateau and Ekiti states.
Equally Fatima Nafiuddeen Marafa and Aisha Ismail Zubairu took home gold honours for their work in digital literacy and content creation.
Among the standout stories was that of the Kano State volleyball team. Though their opening match ended in defeat, the team rallied, finishing second in their group.
In the First Round, team Kano (volleyball boys) defeated team Katsina 25:19 and defeated them again in the second round 25:10. Kano 25 vs Katsina 19 to finish second overall to win silver.
in a vibrant celebration of young talent and achievement, the AGILE Games Awards on Tuesday May 27 honoured outstanding students from across Nigeria at the State House in Abuja.
The event, held as part of the Children’s Day festivities, recognised excellence in both sports and the arts.
Addressing children, dignitaries, and education leaders at the award ceremony at the State House, The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu described Nigerian children as “the heartbeat of the nation.”
She urged the children: “Keep learning, keep creating and know that your potential to make a real difference in Nigeria is limitless.”
Congratulating all Nigerian children, she highlighted the importance of the World Bank-funded AGILE project, which aims to eradicate out-of-school children and keep girls in school. “Every child represented here today has demonstrated what is possible when opportunity meets support,” she said. “You all have shown us that the good seeds planted are already bearing fruit.”
Minister for Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, described the initiative as a milestone, stating: “It is our view in the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration that education is not just a human right. It is a national security imperative. This is why every textbook is a child in the foundation of peace and prosperity. Every school lunch is an act of social justice. And every trained teacher is a guardian of education.”
He described AGILE as “the most impactful initiative to improve their education in the history of our country.”
World Bank Country Director, Mr Taimur Samad, noted that AGILE is the organisation’s second-largest project in Nigeria. “With two-thirds of girls who start schooling dropping out before they finish in Nigeria, AGILE is working on changing this narrative. We hope to support 50 million students.”
The commissioner of Education Dr Gwani Ali Haruna Makoda commend AGILE contingent for being good ambassadors of Kano state at the national competition.
According to him Kano state government attached priority attention to girls education in the state, hence the introduction of different programmes and policies to breach gender disparity in education sector.
The Kano state AGILE Project Coordinator Malam Mujittapha Aminu described the Kano’s feat in content creation as a manifestation of good result of AGILE digital literacy in intervention in schools.
“We’re proud to be part of this. This platform gives our students a chance to shine. It’s more than just games—it’s a movement.
“We have seven different student groups here. It’s about connection—building friendships and networks that might shape future collaborations,” Mr Aminu said.
The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project is a flagship programme of the federal government of Nigeria supported by the World Bank.
Launched in 2022, AGILE Project was initially implemented in seven states, targeting regions with some of the highest rate of cut-of-school girls in the country.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government says it has executed 1,508 development projects worth more than N928 billion across the state’s 44 local government areas since Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf assumed office, with about 80 per cent of constituency projects awarded between 2023 and 2025 already completed.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Comrade Nura Iro Ma’aji Sumaila, disclosed this during an international press briefing on the administration’s infrastructure development programme.
According to Comrade Sumaila, the projects cover critical sectors including roads, urban renewal, education, healthcare, security and other social infrastructure.
He said 799 of the projects have been completed, while 709 are at various stages of execution. He added that the state is also implementing 619 constituency projects through members of the Kano State House of Assembly.
The commissioner noted that about 80 per cent of the constituency projects have been completed. However, he said some projects remain unfinished because of rising construction costs caused by inflation.
He said the government has submitted a request to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for an upward review of contract sums to enable contractors complete the affected projects.
Breakdown of projects
Comrade Sumaila said the administration spent over N169 billion on urban renewal projects, including road rehabilitation, drainage construction and other metropolitan infrastructure.
He said another N118 billion was committed to constructing five-kilometre roads in 38 local government areas to improve connectivity across the state.
According to him, the government also awarded contracts worth over N6.8 billion for the construction of Kano State Neighbourhood Watch security divisions in 36 local government areas.
He added that rural infrastructure projects covering education, healthcare and other social interventions across the 44 local government areas account for contracts valued at more than N397 billion, while other ongoing projects have a combined value of about N255 billion.
Commitment to transparency
The commissioner said the Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation would continue to ensure compliance with due process and technical standards in the execution of government projects.
He said the ministry’s mandate includes monitoring projects to ensure value for money and prudent utilisation of public resources.
According to him, the administration’s investments in infrastructure are intended to improve mobility, strengthen security, expand access to education and healthcare, improve water supply and stimulate economic growth across the state.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, according to the latest Sub-National Education Spending Index developed by the University of Paris.
KANO FOCUS reports that the ranking places Kano State first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across 15 ECOWAS member countries, underscoring the state’s growing reputation for prioritising investment in education.
According to the published index, Kano topped the rankings with an overall S-WAESI score of 87.21, outperforming other leading regions, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal. Lagos State was the second Nigerian state on the list, ranking 16th overall.
The assessment evaluated states and regions using the S-WAESI (Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index) methodology, which measures government commitment to education through indicators such as actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
The methodology assigns 35 points to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, 10 points to education priority and 10 points to transparency.
The report indicated that Kano excelled largely due to its strong actual education spending and budget execution, making it the best-performing sub-national government in the region.
The ranking covered states, regions, districts and municipalities across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) said the recognition reflects Kano State Government’s sustained investment in expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure and strengthening educational planning and budget implementation.
KANO FOCUS reports that the achievement is expected to further boost the state’s profile as a leader in education reform within West Africa and provide additional momentum for ongoing efforts to improve learning outcomes across the state.
The latest ranking comes amid renewed attention on education financing across ECOWAS, with experts increasingly emphasising transparent budgeting, efficient resource utilisation and sustained public investment as critical drivers of quality education.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after qualifying for a total of $3.5 million in performance-based incentives for implementing key governance, education and healthcare reforms.
KANO FOCUS reports that the World Bank, through the HOPE Governance Programme domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved $27 million in incentives for states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced the incentives on Tuesday in Abuja during a retreat attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah, said the incentives were based on the recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed states’ performance against agreed reform indicators.
Kano ranked among the highest-performing states, qualifying for incentives under three separate reform indicators.
The state will receive $1.5 million under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for the state basic education budget.
It also qualified for another $1.5 million under DLR 2.2, which recognises states that adopted comprehensive guidelines for consolidated work plans for state primary healthcare budgets.
In addition, Kano secured $500,000 under DLR 2.3 for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.
Altogether, the state is expected to receive $3.5 million, making it one of the top-performing states under the programme.
Only five states—Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe—qualified for both the education and healthcare planning incentives, earning $3 million each from the two indicators alone.
Kano further distinguished itself by qualifying under the local government budgeting reform indicator, increasing its total allocation to $3.5 million.
The state also featured among 15 states that met the requirements under DLR 4.1, which rewards states for publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2025. Each qualifying state under this indicator will receive $500,000.
Other states that qualified under DLR 4.1 are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe.
According to the programme, the performance-based incentives are designed to encourage states to strengthen governance systems, improve budget transparency and enhance planning in the education and primary healthcare sectors.
KANO FOCUS reports that the HOPE Governance Programme is a World Bank-supported initiative implemented through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to promote improved public financial management and better service delivery across Nigeria’s states.
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