Action plan – Kaduna State, Nigeria, 2024 – 2025

At-a-Glance

Duration

May 2027

Date Submitted

8th February 2024

Foreword(s)

On assumption of office in May 2023, we began the implementation of the SUSTAIN Agenda that focuses on safety and security, upgrade of infrastructure, strengthening institutions, trade and investment, agriculture, investing in human capital, and nurturing citizen engagement in fulfillment of our campaign promises.

Our administration is making conscious and deliberate efforts to spread development by focusing on the rural areas. The goal is to reinvent and re-energize the rural economies through massive infrastructural development that will make the citizens fully embrace democracy as a system that caters to their welfare and enables them to realize their full potential.

The challenge before us therefore is to restore the people’s trust in government based on the Open Government principles of inclusiveness, responsiveness, fairness, and integrity in policy-making and service delivery.

The Third Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More Action Plan 2024-2025 is the ideal co-created document that contains the vision of our administration which will transform the lives of the rural people and accelerate the achievement of the SUSTAIN Agenda.

The signing of the first Executive Order on “Financial InclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More in Kaduna State” demonstrated our commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... to improving the lives of our citizens, especially the poor, underserved, and vulnerable for access to better opportunities from the State and Federal government social investment programs, as well as Donor Agencies interventions.

The 2024 – 2026 Multiyear Budget tagged “Budget of Rural Transformation for Inclusive Development” is our first budget, with citizens’ observations and inputs incorporated.

Finally, I am optimistic that the implementation of this plan in strong partnership with state and non-state actors will strongly deliver development in an inclusive manner, reinvigorate the productivity of our people, boost the economy, build the needed political capital and trust in government.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

The current administration of Senator Uba Sani was elected into power to deliver the dividends of democracy based on the SUSTAIN Agenda. This Agenda clearly highlights the priority of the Government over the next four (4) years. These include; safety and security, upgrading of infrastructure, strengthening institutions, trade and investment, agriculture, investing in human capital, and nurturing citizen engagement. The Agenda was carefully designed to bridge the gap between the rural and urban areas, revitalize the rural economies, address poverty, empower citizens, address infrastructure deficits, and renew the citizen’s belief in governance and democracy. This maintains that the welfare of the citizens of Kaduna State remains the top priority.

In the end, the SUSTAIN Agenda’s vision is to achieve a united and prosperous state with abundant economic opportunities.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

The Co-creation of the First and Second OGP State Action Plans 2018-2020 and 2021- 2023 has resulted in critical reforms in the State. These reforms cut across five (5) commitments namely open budgeting, open contractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... More, citizen engagement, strengthening social protection systems in the state, and improving service delivery in education and health sectors.

The establishment of the Community Development Charter (CDC) as a participatory Budgeting tool where citizens influence the Budget at the State and Local Government areas. Leveraging technology as an enabler in Open Governance saw the automation of the CDC process in the State with more needs being submitted on time to inform the Budget.

Published Bills of Quantities (BOQs) on the Kaduna State Public Procurement Authority (KADPPA) website to ensure procurement information is available and accessible to Citizens.

Under Social Protection, the State witnessed the passage of the Social Security Bill. Increased coverage of poor and vulnerable households captured in the State Social Register, Poor and vulnerable groups accessing basic minimum package of health services from the 1% consolidated revenue of the state.

Accountability mechanisms Developed Scorecards as evidence for advocacy. For service delivery, a tracking tool for reporting progress on public infrastructure in critical sectors across the entire state supported by Partnership to Reform Engage and Learn (PERL) was developed and deployed.

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

Given that the Kaduna State Government has successfully implemented Open Government Reforms, there is more that needs to be done most especially around institutionalizing open governance reforms.

• One major desire that will help navigate some challenges is the domestication of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in the State. This law has the potential to promote proactive and reactive disclosure while ensuring smooth collaboration between Public officials and citizens.
• Low community confidence in the process due to the non-implementation of some of the CDC-nominated projects at the State and Local Government level. To address this, there is a need to provide ring-fenced percentage dedicated for the CDC projects in the annual budget at the State and Local Government Areas.
• The inability of the state to disclose all procurement information due to skill gaps and availability of data management infrastructures. To address this, the State has joined the CoST Infrastructure TransparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More Initiative to proactively and reactively disclose project information for infrastructure projects.
• The rising insecurity, poverty, inflation, and unemployment amongst many others motivated the Governor to sign an executive order on Financial Inclusion that will see the establishment of a TRUST FUND for the poor and vulnerable in Kaduna State.
• Improve service delivery in education and health. The Government through the SUSTAIN Agenda has committed to upgrade infrastructure across the state.

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

• Nurturing citizen engagement that will provide timely platforms for citizen input into government policy and the implementation of the SUSTAIN reform agenda.
• Embed the State Government’s community engagement processes in policy development processes and ensure that government decisions are evidence-based.
• Encourage communities to monitor projects and engage in collaborations in the areas of agriculture, trade, and the environment.
• The administration will improve the provision of accessibility to public buildings by persons living with disability and make policies that will promote their inclusion in all aspects of livelihood.
• Adherence to the Rule of Law as the guiding principle.
• Reinvent and re-energize the rural economies through massive infrastructural development to check rural-urban migration for citizens to fully embrace democracy as a system that caters to their welfare and enables them to realize their full potential.
• Consolidate fiscal openness in Kaduna by expanding the platforms that will continue to be driven by the state fiscal, transparency, accountability, and sustainability model.
• Promoting accelerated rural development by extending infrastructure development to all local government areas, with the goal of supporting our rural communities to achieve rapid economic growth and development.
• We shall be deploying a knowledge management mechanism to strengthen the implementation of the State Action Plan.

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

The State Action Plan design and the milestones are aligned with the vision of the SUSTAIN Agenda of the administration. The Action Plan seeks to contribute to the attainment of the SUSTAIN Agenda by promoting transparency, accountability, and citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More across critical sectors in the state.

The State through open budget commitment has sustained the platforms created for citizens’ input to influence the budget to promote ownership and sustainability.

The disclosure of procurement information and current project information using technology in real-time seeks to demonstrate a higher level of responsiveness on the part of the Government.

The Commitment on citizen engagement seeks to institutionalize access to information by domesticating the Freedom of Information Law in the State.

The commitment on social protection seeks to achieve a life of dignity for all residents of Kaduna State by reducing the level of poverty in the state.

The commitment to education and health seeks to improve equitable access to quality education and health services for formal and non-formal education and health sector in the state, improve partnerships for results between state actors and non-state actors that ensure the implementation of education and health policies across the state and; strengthen the voice of accountability.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

The Open government strategic vision contributes to the accomplishment of the SUSTAIN Agenda as aligned with the Kaduna State 2024-2028 Development Plan with the goal of sustaining development strides, promoting equal opportunity, and the well-being of the people.

The over-arching development goal is to consolidate progressive governance, sustain development strides, and promote equal opportunity for the well-being of the people. Improved well-being of the people is expected to reflect and be tracked through improvement in key impact development indices such as the State GDP, SGDP per capita, Poverty by Living standard, income poverty (measured by the Purchasing Power Parity), and Human Development Index (SHDI), male and female Life expectancy.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission (KADPBC)
• Kaduna State Public Procurement Authority (KADPPA)
• Kaduna Social Investment Programme Agency (KADSIPA)
• Kaduna State Ministry of Education (MOE)
• Kaduna State Ministry of Health (KSMOH)

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

The OGP Secretariat domiciled in the Planning and Budget Commission is the Executive space for the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... and follow-up of the Action Plan. The Point of Contact and the Civil Society Advisor manage the day-to-day affairs of the Secretariat with support from the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Permanent Secretary, and Commissioner.

Kaduna State is implementing five (5) Commitments in the third State Action Plan. Each commitment is managed by both State and non-state actors, making the total number of Ten (10) Persons. This Technical Working Group (TWG) members made of both State and non-state actors oversee the implementation of the Action Plan based on each commitment. The Technical Working Group members also form the State Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru... led by the overall Government Co-chair and Non-State Actor Co-chair that meets quarterly to report progress on the implementation of the plan. The State Steering Committee is chaired by the Commissioner of Planning and Budget Commission who is a member of the State Executive Council (ExCO). The OGP Secretariat is responsible for coordinating and communicating with other departments related to their participation in the co-creation process, and the implementation of commitments to which they lead or contribute.

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

• The OGP Secretariat is the coordination Office, responsible for the development process of the action plan. Designed Google form of Technical Working Group Mapping tools for non-state actors to identify commitment areas to support its implementation.
• State Action Plan III Zero Draft workshop is the space created with support from Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL) to propose the commitment area for implementation.
• Validation meeting is the space created with support from Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL) for both State and non-state actors to validate the proposed milestones and the Action Plan in general. This meeting was held physically, and inputs were further added to the Action Plan.
• OpenGov YouthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More Innovation Hub space focused on youths between the ages of 18 and 29 who are interested in Governance to identify youth-specific milestones in the third State Action Plan
• Stakeholder dialogue meeting supported by PLANE and LAFIYA Project to facilitate ownership of diverse stakeholders for the implementation of the plan on improving service delivery in the education and health sectors.
• Uploaded the action plan on Google Drive for citizens to make input into the third State Action Plan.
• The Civil Society Selection Committee is the space created for strictly Civil Society members to select persons that will implement the third State Action Plan. The Civil Society members that are selected from members of the Civil Society State Steering Committee.

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

To ensure diversity, the OGP Secretariat maintained the methodology used in the co-creation of the Second State Action Plan. In order to ensure the diversity of the representation in these spaces, we developed a comprehensive communication plan, to reach out to all groups. The Open Form was designed with an online and in-person component to include those suffering from the technology barrier. In addition, the selection of the civil society organizations that are part of the regular forum included representation from vulnerable groups including genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... More and women’s groups, persons with disabilities, and indigenous populations.

Invitations were sent out to over 180 organizations and individuals to participate in the Regular Forum in accordance with diversity (age, gender, migration, urban-rural, organized, unorganized, expert, neighborhood, public-private citizens) and territoriality criteria, and it was opened up as a proposal on the government’s citizen engagement web repositoryAccess to relevant information is essential for enabling participation and ensuring accountability throughout the OGP process. An OGP repository is an online centralized website, webpage, platform or ....

Who participated in these spaces?

The decision to conduct deliberative forums was related to the idea of generating spaces for exchange to produce new inputs for the definition of commitments, providing the debate with greater depth and plurality of voices through the incorporation of citizens’ perspectives.

• Represented sectors: Citizens, neighborhood, community organizations, government, academia, and private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More.
• Dynamic: Exchange forums for the generation of diagnosis and identification of the main topics rated by the citizens (inputs for further commitment).

The total of unique participants in the co-creation process was 318 persons. The composition was as follows:

• Civil Society Organization representatives- 40
• Questions received online – 25
• Total Government participants (per area) 33
• Total of participants in deliberative forums (non-affiliated to an organization) – 138
• Total of participants in workshops (non-affiliated to an organization) – 76
• Academia participants (Network or institution) – 2

Private Sector – 4

How many groups participated in these spaces?

318

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation process?

7

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

The OGP Secretariat at the Planning and Budget Commission is set up to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of each commitment. The coordination is led by the Point of Contact with support from an additional OGP Support Officer and the Citizen Advisor who will be from the CS Community. In the same vein, each TWG is made up of Government and Civil Society will team up to achieve each commitment. They will meet quarterly to plan activities, coordinate responsibilities among implementing partners, identify and overcome challenges in implementation, and discuss updates and milestones as they happen. These TWGs were established during the co-creation process and leaders of the groups form the State Steering Committee where strategic challenges and milestones will also be discussed/addressed for better results.

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

The monitoring body for the action plan will consist of a consortium of academia and civil society representatives. This body will be led by a member of the academic community from the Local University (Kaduna State University) who will also be the main point of contact. Members of the academia will be involved in collecting the evidence, filing the Inception Assessment, the End of Commitment Assessment, and other forms, and analyzing the results as may be required by the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... or the OGP Local Support Office.

The monitoring body will meet once after the co-creation process has ended and each time there is an assessment of an implemented commitment.

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Prof. Hauwa Evelyn Yusuf, Director, Center for Gender Studies, Kaduna State University, eveadex@gmail.com
• Dr. Peter Adamu, Lecturer, Department of Economics Kaduna State University, peteradamu@gmail.com
• Dr. Abdul Hamidu Abdullahi, Department of Local Government and Development Studies, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria., abdulhamidu2020@gmail.com

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

The Steering Committee will designate some Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) persons who will be responsible for monitoring the OGP activities. Their roles will include:

• Lead the Development of the action plan implementation framework.
• Developing and jointly implementing monitoring activities.
• Supporting members of the public to constructively engage in the OGP process.
• Maintaining communication with government agencies and civil society responsible in the Regular Forum for implementing specific commitments during the implementation period.
• Building partnerships between all forms of media and the OGP process.

Monitoring OGP performance through constant reporting and documenting evidence.

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

The M&E persons will contact government agencies responsible for the implementation of specific commitments to get information on progress and report to the Steering Committee Members. This update will happen at least once a quarter. If necessary, the M&E personnel will hold a meeting to discuss progress and any highlights worth reporting or any challenges in implementation that may require support by the Steering Committee or the TWGs.

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

The results of implementation will be shared with the public through:

• The Kaduna OGP Local portal will publish content on a quarterly basis.
• Regular communication with traditional media outlets as well as published materials on social media.
• The minutes of the Steering committee meetings on progress will be made publicly available as well as our repository of documents that show completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More of commitments.
• Inception Reports made available on the OGP Kaduna website
• End of commitment assessment report made available on the OGP Kaduna website

Disseminate results using the OGP Kaduna, Accountability Mechanisms, and Technical Working Groups WhatsApp Platforms. In addition, results shall be shared via this website and the repository for SAP III Implementation.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Mubarak Abdulganiyi, Civil Society Co-chair, Kaduna Local Government Accountability Mechanism
• Femi Johnson, Projects, Communication & ICT Officer, Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women

Attachments:

• Kaduna State Open Government Strategic Vision 2024-2025
• MTEF_2024-2026
• The SUSTAIN Manifesto
• The Kaduna OGP Model of Co-creation and Change