Jigawa’s next phase of development will be driven by knowledge, evidence- Namadi

Governor Umar Namadi has declared that Jigawa State’s next phase of development will be driven by knowledge, research, and evidence, as he called for deeper collaboration between government and academics to provide practical solutions to the state’s development challenges.

The governor stated this on Saturday at an interactive session with the Forum of Jigawa Academics, held at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Dutse. During the meeting, he reviewed the progress made under his administration’s 12-Point Agenda and emphasized the need to build on the gains of the past three years through evidence-based policymaking, innovation, and knowledge-driven development.

Welcoming academics, researchers, teachers, and intellectuals from institutions of higher learning across the country, Governor Namadi said the annual engagement provided an important platform for informed dialogue and practical ideas to strengthen the implementation of the 12-Point Agenda and advance the vision of a Greater Jigawa.

He stated that the latest engagement, the fourth in the series, was designed to go beyond accountability and provide an opportunity to interrogate evidence, refine policies, and identify how knowledge could accelerate the next stage of the state’s development.

“Our last engagement here in May 2025 focused principally on accountability. Today’s session, the fourth in the series, must go further by interrogating evidence, refining policy, and identifying how knowledge can accelerate the next stage of our mission.”

Governor Namadi said the administration had, since its inception in May 2023, anchored its development programme on the 12-Point Agenda, which he described as a framework for assigning responsibility, tracking implementation, measuring results, and turning government commitments into verifiable progress.

He said the agenda was not designed as a static document but came about in response to evidence, changing realities, milestones achieved, and the aspirations of the people, shaping sectoral development plans, annual budgets, and institutional reforms.

“Alhamdulillah, the progress recorded since we assumed office reflects a consistent direction: building an inclusive and productive economy, expanding human-development opportunities, strengthening infrastructure, protecting vulnerable citizens, improving environmental resilience, and reforming public institutions.”

The governor highlighted agriculture as a major pillar of the state’s economic transformation strategy, saying that the government was working to move the sector from subsistence production to a productive, mechanized, and market-oriented system.

He said the state had established the Jigawa Agricultural Transformation Agency, created a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development, and incorporated the Jigawa Farm Mechanisation Company to strengthen delivery across the agricultural value chain.

“The Mechanization Company will operate 60 centers with a fleet of 400 tractors and 60 combine harvesters, including the 100 tractors augmented through the President’s Food Security Support Intervention procured by the State Government at subsidized prices.

The governor also highlighted partnerships with national and international institutions in areas including rice production, seed systems, livestock, dairy development, horticulture, irrigation, mechanization, and agro-processing.”

He said the government was equally investing in agricultural research and knowledge development, including support for 10 PhD and MSc researchers under the Wheat Value Chain Research Programme, postgraduate training for more than 80 Jigawa academics in agricultural disciplines, and specialized training for more than 100 livestock officers under the state’s partnership with India’s National Dairy Development Board.

On education, Governor Namadi said the state continued to prioritize the sector by committing at least 26 percent of its annual government expenditure to it.

He listed interventions covering infrastructure, instructional materials, ICT-enabled learning tools, teacher development, girl-child education, Tsangaya, nomadic and mass education, as well as the transformation of selected senior secondary schools into Centres of Excellence.

“To address the shortage of qualified teachers, we recruited 7,500 J-TEACH staff in basic education, of whom 3,000 became permanent and pensionable teachers after rigorous training and selection. We have concluded arrangements to recruit another 4,000 J-TEACH personnel and 660 permanent teachers. At the post-basic level, we recruited almost 2,000 J-TEACH personnel, 1,000 of whom gained permanent and pensionable status. We also deployed over 2,100 graduate teachers, employed about 270 more, and engaged hundreds of non-teaching staff.”

At the tertiary level, he said the government had supported the state’s seven institutions with infrastructure, accreditation, utilities, institutional strengthening, and staff development, while more than 90 academic staff had been sponsored for higher degrees in India.

In the health sector, the governor said the state had revitalized 180 apex Primary Healthcare Centres for 24-hour services, completed and equipped General Hospitals in Gwiwa, Garki, Gantsa, Guri, and Gwaram, commenced new hospitals in Kafin Hausa and Ringim, and opened the Kazaure Specialist Hospital.

He added that the state had recruited more than 1,370 permanent and pensionable health workers and expanded specialist services, including free dialysis and treatment for diabetes, hypertension, and sickle-cell disease.

On infrastructure, Governor Namadi said the state had completed more than 300 kilometers of inherited road projects, while 59 construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance contracts covering about 1,100 kilometers had been awarded since 2024.

He said the combined inherited and newly awarded road portfolio covered roughly 1,500 kilometers and was valued at about ₦420 billion.

The governor also reviewed progress in power, investment, employment, environmental protection, and social protection, including the state’s renewable-energy initiatives, investment facilitation efforts, youth and women empowerment programmes, waterway rehabilitation, and social protection interventions.

He further disclosed that the state’s internally generated revenue had recorded significant growth, with average monthly IGR rising from about ₦1.1 billion in 2023 to over ₦5.2 billion in 2025, while annual collections increased from about ₦27.5 billion to over ₦66 billion.

The governor said the next phase of the administration would be guided by three priorities: completing ongoing programmes, establishing through evidence what works, and institutionalizing successful reforms.

He said the state’s 12-Point Agenda complemented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in food security, economic diversification, livelihoods, infrastructure renewal, and human-capital development, as he highlighted federal interventions in agriculture, education, water supply, roads, SME financing, skills development, and social protection that were supporting development efforts in Jigawa.