In a historic interactive session held at the Government House Banquet Hall, Governor Umar Namadi addressed the Forum of Jigawa academics, highlighting the remarkable achievements of his administration as it approaches its second anniversary.

The governor, who described the event as “very historic and significant,” stressed his administration’s dogged commitment to citizen engagement, transparency, and responsive governance.

“We have a grand vision for our dear state anchored on the 12-point agenda, on which platform we are pursuing several transformative socio-economic development programmes just to deliver that vision of Greater Jigawa,” he said.

Governor Namadi reiterated the government’s accountability to the people and emphasised the sacred nature of the mandate he holds.

“We hold the mandate to govern the affairs of our state as a ‘sacred trust entrusted to us to deliver the will of the people in the most responsive manner.’ It is a ‘compact between us and the citizens, which we stand obligated to deliver in accordance with the Oath of Office that we signed and with utmost transparency and accountability.’”

The governor proudly stated that Jigawa is positioning itself as the nation’s food basket and emphasised that Jigawa State is already a major contributor to national food security and the diversification of the Nigerian economy.

He elaborated on various programmes including the Rice Millionaires Programme, Agricultural Support Programme for Civil Servants, and the recruitment of over 1,500 extension agents under the J-AGRO initiative as part of the government’s effort to transform agriculture in the state.

“Our target… is to support the cultivation of 500,000 hectares by 2030, by which time up to 50% of Nigeria’s total rice requirement would be produced in Jigawa State—In Shaa Allah.”

To institutionalise these efforts, he said, the administration established the State Agricultural Transformation Agency and the Jigawa Farm Mechanisation Company and trained 30 young Master Tractor Technicians in China to maintain new machinery.

He also mentioned the commissioning of the Lallashi Borehole-Based Irrigation Scheme to promote year-round farming using underground water resources.

“This borehole-based irrigation scheme clearly demonstrates the possibilities and limitless opportunities for all-year-round farming even in the desert-prone areas of our state—again, what it takes is only the government’s commitment for sustained investment, which we are determined to continue.”

On infrastructure, Governor Namadi revealed an ambitious rollout of road projects, stating that “Government has awarded contracts for 46 road projects with a distance of almost 978 kilometres worth over N304 billion. This is unprecedented in the history of Jigawa State.”

He further stated that of the 26 ongoing road projects inherited from the previous administration, 23 have been completed and are awaiting commissioning.

In the power sector, the governor highlighted bold reforms, including the establishment of the Ministry of Power and Energy, enactment of a State Electricity Law, and a partnership with KEDCO, in which Jigawa now owns a 10% stake.

He added, “We are starting a collaborative Programme with REA titled ‘Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES)’ to facilitate sustainable access to power in rural communities.”

Governor Namadi further reiterated his administration’s commitment to human development through heavy investment in education and healthcare.

“Over the last two years, during which not less than one-third of our budgets has been earmarked for the education and health sectors, we have steadily made progress in delivering our commitments and addressing many of the challenges bedevilling these two human development sectors.”

While deferring details to a presentation by the Commissioner for Higher Education, the Governor noted that strides have been made in infrastructure, teacher recruitment, and improving learning outcomes, among other achievements.

“Suffice it to say that we have, over the last two years, implemented several interventions that have drastically addressed the issue of infrastructural deficits in our schools across both the basic and post-basic levels, significantly improved pupil-teacher and student-teacher ratios, and satisfactorily improved learning outcomes in our schools. The challenge of out-of-school children is also gradually being addressed through special intervention programmes under the Universal Education Board and the newly established Tsangaya Education Board.”

“For the health sector, we have equally pursued several policy initiatives and executed numerous projects and programmes to achieve our objective of ensuring improved access to qualitative and affordable healthcare services in Jigawa State. Primarily these include development infrastructure at all levels of the health sector, including the completion of inherited ongoing projects at secondary and tertiary levels of healthcare provision.”