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 experience in development planning, social protection coordination, data management and citizen engagement.
The delegation, led by the agency’s Director-General, Hajia Fatima Abubakar-Abdullahi, held an interactive session with the Lagos State Social Protection team, led by its Director, Semiu Yusuf, at the ministry’s headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja.
Speaking during the engagement, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs. Olayinka Ojo, said Lagos had developed institutional structures to strengthen social protection coordination and improve planning outcomes.
Ojo said the state established a dedicated Social Protection Coordinating Department to provide a more coordinated approach to social protection interventions. She added that the department now has dedicated personnel and administrative processes covering areas including accounting, procurement, media and social work.
The Permanent Secretary also explained Lagos’ approach to breaking down data beyond broad administrative classifications to better identify the needs of communities and support more targeted development planning.
She said the approach, alongside the Lagos Development Plan, was designed to ensure that development interventions are distributed across communities and that no area is left behind.
On citizen participation in budgeting, Ojo disclosed that Lagos had concluded consultations across various community structures to gather residents’ priorities for the 2027 budget.
She said the priorities would be presented to accounting officers and heads of agencies ahead of bilateral budget discussions, allowing residents’ needs to be considered in the preparation of budget proposals.
Ojo also highlighted the role of Community Development Committees and other organised community structures in engaging residents, obtaining feedback and supporting social protection activities, including the updating of social protection registers and fresh registration.
Speaking on the visit, the Kano State Social Protection Agency Director-General, Fatima Abubakar-Abdullahi, said the agency, established in the previous year, was still developing its institutional structures and operational systems.
She said the delegation came to Lagos to learn from its experience and apply relevant lessons to Kano’s social protection system, particularly in institutional development, data management, community engagement and coordination of interventions.
The visit is expected to strengthen inter-state knowledge exchange and provide the Kano agency with practical lessons for building an effective social protection institution and improving service delivery.