Kano Social Protection Agency Visits Lagos to Understudy Planning, Social Protection Framework

KANO SOCIAL PROTECTION AGENCY VISITS LAGOS TO UNDERSTUDY PLANNING, SOCIAL PROTECTION FRAMEWORK

LASG Assures Commitment to Inter-State Knowledge-Sharing for National Development

The Kano State Social Protection Agency visited Lagos for a two-day knowledge-sharing meeting with the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, seeking to understudy its experience in 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, Secretariat, Alausa-Ikeja, Lagos, at the weekend.

The Kano delegation included the Director of Planning, Mr Dalhatu Danladi; Director of Public Enlightenment, Mr Rabiu Ibrahim; and the Personal Aide to the Director General.

The two-day engagement provided an opportunity for the Kano delegation to learn from Lagos’ institutional experience in social protection, development planning, grassroots data management and mechanisms for engaging communities in government programmes and budgetary processes.

Speaking during the engagement, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Olayinka Ojo, reaffirmed the State Government’s commitment to knowledge-sharing engagements with other sub-nationals as part of efforts to promote sustainable development across the country.

The Permanent Secretary explained that Lagos had deliberately developed structures to strengthen social protection coordination and improve planning outcomes across the State.

She disclosed that the State established a dedicated Social Protection Coordinating Department after recognising the need for a more coordinated approach to social protection interventions.

According to her, the department has grown into a fully functioning structure with dedicated personnel and administrative processes, including accounting, procurement, media and social work functions.

Mrs Ojo also explained Lagos’ approach to breaking down data beyond broad administrative classifications to enable the government to better understand the needs of communities.

She said the approach supports more targeted planning and helps the government ensure that development interventions are not concentrated in particular areas.

“It helps us to plan for the state in a disintegrated manner, so that we leave no one behind,” Mrs Ojo said.

She further highlighted the Lagos Development Plan as a long-term framework guiding development across sectors, noting that the plan is broken down into different milestones to enable the government identify what needs to be delivered within the immediate, near and longer terms.

“We are very audacious about our plan,” she said, stressing the importance of having a structured development framework that guides government interventions across sectors.

The Permanent Secretary said the State’s planning priorities include driving economic growth, providing modern infrastructure and developing human capital capable of managing and sustaining the resources and opportunities created through development.

She also emphasised the importance of strengthening the capacity of stakeholders, including civil servants, private-sector actors, civil society organisations and other community-based stakeholders, to participate effectively in development processes.

On citizen participation in budgeting, Mrs Ojo disclosed that Lagos had recently concluded consultations across its various community structures to obtain residents’ priorities for the 2027 budget.

She explained that the requests gathered from 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, explaining that the process was aimed at ensuring that residents’ identified priorities receive appropriate consideration in budget proposals.

Mrs Ojo also highlighted the role of Community Development Committees (CDCs) and other organised community structures in reaching residents, obtaining feedback and supporting social protection activities.

According to her, the community structures provide platforms through which the government can engage different groups, including women, youth and other residents, while also supporting activities such as the updating of social protection registers and fresh registration.

She said the State also works with community representatives in monitoring and obtaining feedback on government interventions.

Kano Seeks Lagos’ Experience

Speaking on the purpose of the visit, the Director General of the Kano State Social Protection Agency, Hajia Fatima Abubakar-Abdullahi, expressed appreciation to the Lagos team for receiving the delegation and sharing its experience.

She explained that the Kano agency was relatively new, having been established in the previous year, and was still developing its structures and operational systems.

“We came to Lagos to learn, to understand how you put your things in place, because Lagos is Nigeria,” she said.

The DG also commended the knowledge and experience shared by the Lagos team, describing the engagement as valuable to Kano’s efforts to build an effective social protection institution.

“I’m really happy to be here, because your words, your experiences are full of knowledge,” she said, expressing appreciation for the opportunity to learn from Lagos.

She added that the delegation’s interest was particularly focused on understanding how Lagos had developed and coordinated its systems, given the relatively new status of the Kano agency.

The DG said the lessons from the visit would be useful as Kano continues to establish the necessary institutional structures for effective social protection coordination and service delivery.

The two-day visit was therefore aimed at strengthening inter-state knowledge exchange and enabling the Kano State Social Protection Agency to draw practical lessons from Lagos’ experience in institutional development, planning, community engagement and social protection coordination.

Pix 1747 L-R: Director, Social Protection Coordinating Department, Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, MEPB, Mr Semiu Yusuf; Director, Planning, Kano State Social Protection Agency, Mr. Dalhatu Danladi; Permanent Secretary, (MEPB), Mrs Olayinka Ojo; Director General, Kano Social Protection Agency, Hajia Fatima Abubakar-Abdullahi and Director, Public Enlightenment, Mr Rabiu Ibrahim, during an understudy visit to the Ministry by the Kano team, at the Secretariat, Alausa-Ikeja, at the weekend.

Fawumi Kayode Abiodun
Political Analyst | CEO, Ekocity Media | Publisher, Ekocity Magazine and The Capitol Post