Kaduna State has started training its 23 local government chairmen on how to run their councils with open governance — and the first test is primary healthcare.
A three-day orientation workshop opened on Monday in Kaduna. The state's health and budget commissioners, along with development partners, told the chairmen that transparency at the local level could fix how health money is spent.
"Sustainable improvements in health outcomes can only be achieved when governance systems are open, inclusive, responsive and accountable to the people they serve," said Health Commissioner Umma Ahmed.
She said the local government is the foundation of primary healthcare delivery — it's the level where communities interact most directly with government.
Kaduna has been a leading sub-national government in Nigeria's Open Government Partnership (OGP) journey. The state has implemented action plans that achieved results in fiscal transparency, citizen engagement, procurement reforms, and social accountability. Now it wants to push those principles down to the LGAs.
The OGP is a global initiative that commits governments to be more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Nigeria joined in 2016, and Kaduna was one of the first states to sign on.
Budget and Planning Commissioner Mukhtar Ahmed told the workshop that their core mandate is to ensure every kobo spent translates into tangible development.
The training will guide participants through setting up LGA-level permanent dialogue mechanisms called OGP Steering Committees. These committees bring government officials and civil society representatives to the same table to create Local Government Action Plans (LGAPs).
"We are intentionally focusing this rollout on primary healthcare service delivery," Mukhtar Ahmed said. "This is because health is the foundation of human capital development."
According to him, open governance will help improve primary healthcare financing, strengthen resource tracking, and ensure investments translate into better outcomes for vulnerable women and children across all 23 LGAs.
Anthony Shamang, speaking for development partners, said the OGP framework helps ensure health services remain accessible and responsive to citizens' needs. He urged local leaders to embrace the principles to foster trust, participation, and accountability.
"By working together, we can create an environment where citizens are informed, involved and able to hold their leaders accountable for the quality of health services provided," Shamang said.
Ekanem Isichei, deputy director of communications at the Gates Foundation, commended Kaduna for bringing local government chairmen together to move OGP from principle to practice. But he warned that plans and committees alone won't judge success.
"Ultimately, plans or committees won't judge OGP, but by whether resources reach facilities and services that impact the people." — Ekanem Isichei, Gates Foundation
He said this means setting clear, measurable priorities in budgets and aligning spending to primary healthcare outcomes — not just line items. It also means tracking releases and utilisation of funds regularly to ensure what's planned is actually delivered.
Isichei urged participants to identify two or three financing or service delivery bottlenecks they'll fix within the next 12 months and to track them publicly.
"If each LGA does this well, Kaduna State won't just implement OGP; it'll demonstrate what accountable, results-driven governance looks like in practice," he said.
The Gates Foundation reaffirmed its support for Kaduna in strengthening health financing, accountability, and service delivery systems.
If the training works, patients at primary health centres across Kaduna's 23 LGAs could see better-stocked clinics, fewer drug shortages, and money actually reaching the facilities instead of disappearing along the way. The state is betting that opening up how decisions are made and how funds are tracked will force improvements at the point where care meets the people.
The workshop ends on Wednesday. After that, each LGA is expected to set up its steering committee and start drafting its first action plan — with healthcare as the priority.