The Kano State Social Protection Agency has commenced a two-day knowledge-sharing visit to the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget to understudy the state’s approach to development planning, social protection coordination, data management and citizen engagement.
The delegation, led by the Director General of the Kano State Social Protection Agency, Hajia Fatima Abubakar-Abdullahi, held an interactive session with the Lagos State Social Protection team, led by its Director, Mr Semiu Yusuf, at the ministry’s headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja, on Thursday.
The visit provides the Kano agency, which was established in the previous year, an opportunity to draw practical lessons from Lagos’ institutional experience as it develops its own structures and systems for coordinating social protection interventions.
The Kano delegation included the agency’s Director of Planning, Mr Dalhatu Danladi; Director of Public Enlightenment, Mr Rabiu Ibrahim; and the Personal Aide to the Director General.
At the engagement, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Olayinka Ojo, said the state remained committed to knowledge-sharing with other sub-national governments as part of efforts to promote sustainable development across Nigeria.
Ojo explained that Lagos had deliberately created institutional structures to strengthen social protection coordination and improve development planning outcomes.
She disclosed that the state established a dedicated Social Protection Coordinating Department after identifying the need for a more coordinated approach to social protection interventions.
According to her, the department has evolved into a functional structure with dedicated personnel and administrative processes covering areas including accounting, procurement, media and social work.
The Permanent Secretary also highlighted Lagos’ approach to data management, particularly the disaggregation of information beyond broad administrative classifications to enable government to better understand the specific needs of communities.
She said the approach allows the state to plan in a more targeted manner and ensure that development interventions are not concentrated in particular locations.
‘It helps us to plan for the state in a disintegrated manner, that we leave no one behind,’ Ojo said.
She further explained that the Lagos Development Plan serves as a long-term framework for guiding development across sectors, with milestones broken down into immediate, near-term and longer-term priorities.
‘We are very audacious about our plan,’ she said, stressing the importance of a structured development framework for guiding government interventions and tracking what needs to be delivered over different periods.
Ojo identified economic growth, modern infrastructure and human capital development as key priorities in Lagos’ development planning, while emphasising the need to build the capacity of stakeholders who contribute to the development process.
She said civil servants, private-sector actors, civil society organisations and community-based stakeholders all have roles to play in ensuring that development plans translate into tangible outcomes.
The Permanent Secretary also highlighted Lagos’ approach to incorporating citizens’ priorities into the budget process.
She disclosed that the state had recently concluded consultations across its community structures to obtain residents’ priorities for the 2027 budget.
According to her, the demands and priorities gathered during the consultations would be presented to accounting officers and heads of agencies ahead of bilateral budget discussions.
‘We want you to take cognisance of these things and make sure that a certain percentage of your budget takes care of these things,’ she said.
Ojo explained that the process was designed to ensure that residents’ identified needs receive appropriate consideration during budget preparation.
She also identified Community Development Committees and other organised community structures as important channels for engaging residents, gathering feedback and supporting social protection activities.
According to her, the structures provide platforms for engaging women, youths and other groups, while also assisting with activities such as updating social protection registers and fresh registration.
The state also works with community representatives to monitor government interventions and obtain feedback on their implementation, she said.
Speaking on the purpose of the visit, Kano State Social Protection Agency Director General, Fatima Abubakar-Abdullahi, expressed appreciation to the Lagos team for sharing its experience with the delegation.
She said the Kano agency was relatively new and was still putting in place the institutional structures and operational systems required to deliver effective social protection programmes.
‘We came to Lagos to learn, to understand how you put your things in place, because Lagos is Nigeria,’ she said.
Abubakar-Abdullahi described the engagement as valuable to Kano’s institutional development, particularly in understanding how Lagos had established and coordinated its social protection systems.
‘I’m really happy to be here, because your words, your experiences… you are full of knowledge,’ she said.
She said the lessons gained from Lagos would assist Kano as it continues to build the structures needed for effective social protection coordination and service delivery.
The two-day engagement is expected to strengthen inter-state knowledge exchange while providing Kano with practical insights into institutional development, development planning, grassroots data management, citizen participation and social protection coordination.
The visit also underscores the potential for sub-national governments to share institutional experience and adapt tested approaches to address development and social protection challenges within their respective contexts.