Katsina takes governance to 361 wards with community development programme

The Katsina State Government has launched a Community Development Programme (CDP) designed to shift development planning and the delivery of basic interventions from a largely top-down system to a community-driven model covering all 361 political wards in the state.

The programme, introduced by Governor Dikko Umar Radda on November 21, 2024, places ward-level communities at the centre of identifying local priorities, implementing small-scale projects and determining beneficiaries of selected government interventions.

According to the State Coordinator of the CDP, Dr Kamaluddeen Kabir, the initiative is intended to make governance more responsive by allowing residents to participate directly in decisions affecting their communities.

“The sole aim is to return governance to the hands of the people,” Kabir said, explaining that government initiatives are expected to reflect priorities identified by communities themselves.

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Under the framework, three committees were established: a State Steering Committee chaired by the governor; a Joint Planning Committee chaired by the deputy governor; and Community Level Committees operating across the 361 wards.

Three officers in every ward

The state trained and assessed local government personnel before deploying three officers to each ward to support the programme.

The officers comprise Community Development Officers, responsible principally for government assets and development activities; Community Learning Officers, who oversee teaching and learning-related matters; and Community Support Officers, responsible for social welfare and community well-being.

At the grassroots, the officers work with ward committees comprising elected councillors, traditional leaders, community elders, religious leaders, representatives of schools, health and agriculture services, youth and women leaders, persons with special needs and traders.

The committees are expected to deliberate on community priorities, promote equitable distribution of government interventions and supervise projects implemented within their respective wards.

N10m allocation and more than 3,900 projects

As part of the programme’s first phase, the government allocated N10 million to each of the state’s 361 wards, representing a combined allocation of N3.61 billion.

The money was intended for small-scale repairs and restoration of public infrastructure, including damaged primary schools, non-functional boreholes, drainage channels, culverts and other community assets.

Kabir said the first round of funding resulted in more than 3,900 micro-projects across the state.

He said communities were able to identify relatively small but important repairs that had remained unattended for years because they could now access funds specifically designated for local priorities.

“Boreholes that were non-functional for seven years are now working, and dilapidated schools have been renovated,” he said.

A further N10 million allocation per ward has also been approved for the current fiscal year.

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Rather than having projects selected entirely from the state capital, ward committees hold town-hall meetings where residents identify priority needs and participate in determining beneficiaries of selected interventions.

The process has also been incorporated into the state’s fiscal planning, with priorities gathered from the 361 wards contributing to the formulation of the 2026 budget and the framework for the 2027 budget.

Direct support for farmers, women and vulnerable households

Beyond infrastructure, the CDP has become a channel for distributing agricultural inputs, livelihood support and relief materials to residents.

According to the coordinator, the state’s interventions have included the distribution of 4,000 hand-powered tillers and 4,000 solar-powered irrigation water pumps, as well as another 4,000 petrol-powered irrigation pumps.

Farmers have also received agricultural inputs, including sprayers, liquid fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, while hundreds of thousands of bags of fertiliser have been distributed or sold at subsidised rates.

Kabir said 400,000 bags of fertiliser had been sold to farmers at N20,000 per bag, alongside free fertiliser support for dry-season farmers.

The programme has also targeted women operating micro and nano businesses.

Kabir said about 10,830 women representing 30 beneficiaries per ward were supported during the current year across trades including tailoring, cap making, food vending and cold-drink businesses.

Some beneficiaries received equipment such as deep freezers, while others received financial assistance.

He also put the number of women previously supported through micro and nano-business interventions at about 4,800.

Grain distribution through ward committees

The programme has also been used to coordinate food relief for vulnerable households.

Kabir said more than 90,000 bags of grains were being distributed, including maize, millet, sorghum and rice.

Each ward received a minimum allocation, after which community committees were responsible for determining how the supplies would be distributed among neighbourhoods and identifying vulnerable beneficiaries.

Where demand exceeded available supplies, Kabir said some communities resorted to a lottery system to ensure that the process remained transparent.

The coordinator said beneficiary lists were verified at collection points, with items withheld where the identity of a claimant did not correspond with the approved record.

He attributed the approach to the programme’s effort to reduce political patronage and eliminate intermediaries from the distribution process.

Livestock scheme adopts revolving model

The state’s grassroots intervention has also expanded into livestock empowerment.

Under the scheme, selected established farmers receive 50 goats, while 10 women involved in goat rearing are selected in each ward.

Each selected woman receives three female goats and one male goat.

The programme operates on a revolving model. As beneficiaries’ goats reproduce and the offspring are weaned, specified numbers of young goats are transferred into established local herds for continued rearing.

According to the programme’s framework, the arrangement is intended to reduce the burden of feeding large numbers of animals individually while allowing the livestock scheme to expand gradually across communities.

Ward committees are responsible for monitoring the process, documenting beneficiaries and overseeing the rotation of livestock within their communities.

KASIDA micro-loans and wider development projects

The grassroots economic intervention is being complemented by a micro-loan programme implemented through the Katsina State Investment and Development Authority (KASIDA).

Kabir said 5,000 people had recently been identified to receive micro-loans of N100,000 each.

He said the community structures also provide a channel through which residents can communicate requests for infrastructure, renovation and other development needs to the relevant ministries and government agencies.

Beyond the CDP, the state government says its wider development programme includes the renovation and upgrading of more than 280 primary healthcare centres.

The facilities, according to the programme coordinator, are being upgraded to admit patients, with staff quarters and basic emergency transportation provided in selected locations.

Following the declaration of a state of emergency on education, the government has also targeted the 10 most dilapidated schools in each local government area for comprehensive renovation, structural improvements and provision of new furniture.

Katsina remains one of the states affected by serious security challenges, particularly in some rural communities. Kabir said the CDP nevertheless managed to reach areas that government officials had previously considered difficult to access.

He attributed the access to the involvement of local residents, saying communities in some high-risk locations assisted project teams in reaching infrastructure sites.

According to him, residents sometimes transported government teams on motorcycles to inspect facilities in areas where conventional access was difficult.

Kabir also said the direct nature of the programme helped to build confidence among communities because residents could see projects and interventions being delivered without passing through political intermediaries.

He recounted instances in which residents transporting relief materials encountered armed groups but were allowed to proceed after the nature of the supplies was understood.

Transparency at ward level

The programme operates with financial controls intended to track how ward allocations are spent.

Ward accounts are jointly managed by designated officials, while expenditures are subject to approval and documentation. Communities are required to submit receipts and retirement documents for completed activities before further requests can be processed.

For the state government, the model is intended not simply to transfer funds to communities but to establish a structure through which residents participate in identifying needs, implementing interventions and monitoring results.

Kabir said the approach was adapted from community-driven development methodologies associated with international development interventions, including World Bank-supported models.