Katsina State is set to receive between $6 million and $8 million in additional funding from the World Bank to expand the Nigeria for Women Project across its 34 local government areas, Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has disclosed.
Radda made this known while receiving a delegation from the World Bank, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and the Nigeria for Women Project at the Katsina State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
The governor said his administration had already committed N4bn as counterpart funding to the project, describing women empowerment as a critical strategy for reducing poverty, improving household incomes and tackling insecurity.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, Radda also unveiled plans to introduce a complementary Nigeria for Men Initiative to promote youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, economic self-reliance and community development.
Expressing concern over what he described as the slow pace of implementation, the governor said the state had fulfilled all its obligations since last year.
“I was concerned about the slow pace of implementation because Katsina fulfilled its counterpart funding obligation since last year. We invested in this programme because we believe it will uplift families across the state,” Radda said.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to extending the programme beyond the initial three benefiting local government areas to cover all 34 councils in the state.
According to him, expanding the project would improve livelihoods and help address the security challenges that have displaced many families and left women vulnerable.
“Our security challenges have displaced many families and exposed women to economic hardship. Expanding this project across the state is critical to rebuilding livelihoods, restoring dignity and improving community resilience,” he said.
The governor commended beneficiaries for embracing the project’s Affinity Group model, revealing that participating women had already mobilised about N192m in savings before receiving external support.
“The most impressive aspect is that beneficiaries first help themselves. Their commitment to savings, discipline and self-reliance is the foundation of sustainable development,” he added.
Radda said the success recorded by the women had inspired plans for a similar initiative targeting young men.
“If we can successfully organise our young people around these values, Katsina will witness significant socio-economic transformation within the next five years,” he said.
He added that beyond economic empowerment, the programme was improving education, nutrition, healthcare, family welfare and social cohesion across communities.
Speaking earlier, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Ibrahim Suleiman, described Katsina as a national model in implementing the Nigeria for Women Project.
She announced that implementation challenges had been resolved and disclosed that the World Bank would front-load between $6 million and $8 million to support the programme’s expansion in the state.
“Katsina has distinguished itself as one of the leading states implementing the Nigeria for Women Project. The commitment demonstrated by Governor Radda has positioned the state as a model that others can learn from,” the minister said.
She also revealed plans to mobilise an additional $1.5bn to expand the programme nationwide.
“Our target is to reach 10 million Nigerian women. Already, about 4.5 million women have benefited, and we are working with development partners to secure additional financing that will deepen the programme’s impact across the country,” she added.
The Katsina State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Aminu Malumfashi, said the project had strengthened financial inclusion, accountability and self-reliance among women in the state.
She explained that beneficiaries must complete group formation, savings mobilisation and institutional strengthening before qualifying for the Community Investment Fund.
“We are optimistic that the first set of beneficiaries will meet the requirements and begin accessing the Community Investment Fund by October,” she said.
Also speaking, the World Bank Task Team Leader for the Nigeria for Women Project, Mr Micheal Ilesanmi, attributed the programme’s progress in Katsina to the governor’s leadership and commitment.
“Katsina is one of the leading states implementing this programme, and that success is largely due to the strong leadership and commitment demonstrated by Governor Radda,” he said.
Ilesanmi confirmed that between $6 million and $8 million would be released this year to accelerate implementation in the state.
He added that discussions were ongoing to secure an additional $1.5bn to expand the programme nationwide.
Responding to the governor’s enquiry on when beneficiaries would begin accessing the Community Investment Fund, Ilesanmi explained that the facility would become available after participating groups demonstrated sustained savings, sound governance and organisational capacity.
He said the first beneficiaries were expected to access the fund within the next three to four months.
The World Bank delegation also identified improved maternal and child healthcare, increased school enrolment, higher agricultural productivity and better access to healthcare services among the programme’s emerging benefits, while encouraging the state government to link beneficiaries to the State Health Insurance Scheme.
