Headlines
North-West governors adopt child support programme to tackle poverty, re-enrol 781,000 out-of-school children
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Governors of the seven North-West states have adopted the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme as a regional framework for reducing multidimensional poverty and improving human capital development across the region.
The decision was reached at the North-West High-Level Policy Dialogue on Reducing Multidimensional Poverty through Scaled Social Protection Systems and Innovative Financing, held at Government House, Kano. The dialogue brought together governors, representatives of the Federal Government, development partners, civil society organisations, traditional and religious institutions, and private sector stakeholders.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the governors expressed concern that the North-West region has a multidimensional poverty rate of 75.8 per cent, significantly higher than the national average of 63 per cent, affecting about 45.9 million people. They noted that children bear the greatest burden of deprivation through limited access to education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection services.
The forum unanimously adopted the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme, anchored on the Universal Child Benefit concept, as the principal platform for identifying vulnerable children and linking them to education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection services. The governors also resolved to institutionalise the Universal Child Benefit through policy, legislative and administrative measures in their respective states.
As part of commitments made under a six-month implementation framework, the states pledged to re-enrol at least 781,200 out-of-school children into formal education and support the retention of 1.3 million school-age children through attendance and retention interventions. They also committed to enrolling more than 781,000 children in Early Childhood Care Development and Education programmes while strengthening girls’ education and integrating western education into the Almajiri system.
On healthcare, the governors resolved to enrol 1.17 million vulnerable children into non-contributory health insurance schemes and support the full immunisation of at least 781,200 children under five years of age. They also pledged to improve access to maternal and child healthcare services and expand primary healthcare delivery in underserved communities.
The communiqué further outlined plans to tackle child malnutrition by providing nutrition support services to at least 781,200 malnourished children and reaching an equal number of mothers and caregivers with infant and young child feeding awareness programmes.
To strengthen social protection systems, the states agreed to harmonise social registers, integrate beneficiary databases with education, health and nutrition information systems, and prioritise vulnerable groups, including internally displaced persons, persons with disabilities and communities affected by insecurity.
The governors also committed to sustainable financing by establishing dedicated child support and social protection budget lines and progressively allocating not less than two per cent of annual state budgets to child-focused social protection interventions. They further pledged to mobilise resources through development partners, private sector organisations, philanthropic institutions and Islamic social finance instruments such as Zakat and Waqf.
The forum resolved to establish a North-West Child Development and Social Protection Coordination Mechanism under the North-West Governors’ Forum Secretariat to coordinate implementation, monitor progress, mobilise resources and publish periodic governors’ scorecards on child development indicators.
The governors called on the Federal Government, development partners, development finance institutions, civil society organisations, traditional and religious institutions, and international humanitarian organisations to support the implementation of the programme and help build a sustainable Universal Child Benefit system across the region.
The communiqué concluded with a collective commitment by the governors to ensure that no child is left behind and to translate the dialogue’s resolutions into measurable actions capable of improving the lives of millions of vulnerable children and households across the North-West.
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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