By Maiwada Dammallam
As Katsina State approaches the 2027 governorship election, Governor Dikko Umaru Radda’s first-term record is increasingly becoming a central issue in the political conversation.
No doubt that the supporters of the governor argue that the administration’s performance in education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure and human-capital development provides the basis for continuity as Katsina is now opening a new chapter in its development history.
Radda came into office in 2023 with the “Building Your Future” agenda, promising to address some of the state’s longstanding development challenges in regards to the state sustainability as an entity.
Three years into the administration, and the positive development status the state has attained became so glaring as the government seriously invested in projects and programmes intended to expand access to basic services and create economic opportunities to its growing citizens.
Let’s take a glance at the education sector which serves as a major priority of the government. During the three years of Radda administration, Education has been one of the administration’s most prominent areas of spending. The state government has committed more than N120 billion to the sector since 2023, including the construction of 170 junior secondary schools, rehabilitation of 300 schools and renovation of 150 primary school (with more in the offing).
The administration has also established Model Smart Schools in Radda, Jikamshi and Dumurkul, equipped with modern facilities including ICT infrastructure, robotics and artificial-intelligence facilities. These are schools that could compete favorably with similar structured albeit elitist schools, and were strategically established by the Radda administration to identify and nurture gifted talents among the poor mostly rural citizens of the state. Please note, admission into these schools is strictly on merit. With a single masterstroke Governor Radda has deftly removed the wedge between poverty and self-discovery, determination and opportunities. Quite a way to build a future for a state.
Similarly, student welfare has also featured prominently. In 2026, the government had invested more than N6.1 billion in scholarships for 174,451 students, while also clearing scholarship backlogs and expanding support for medical students home and abroad.
Of course, it’s also important to mention the unprecedented recruitment of 7,232 teachers on permanent and pensionable basis in 2023 and the recruitment of another batch of 2,158 in 2025. No gainsaying this is to enhance functionality of the education sector by injecting the required manpower needed to have the job done. Additionally, Radda recruited on the same basis over 1,800 health workers. Combined, he injected over 12,000 properly trained permanent and pensionable workers into the education and healthcare sectors. This is unprecedented in the entire history of Nigeria.
Perhaps that is why for supporters, these interventions represent an attempt to make education and healthcare a long-term investment rather than simply an annual government expenditure in the two critical sectors. By this, the administration has sought to demonstrate measurable intervention for a better access to health services and education in the state.
It is on record that the state government had successfully upgraded 268 primary healthcare centres, as part of an effort to improve healthcare access across the state’s 361 wards. The government also committed N26.7 billion to healthcare infrastructure development in the state.
Moreover, the Dikko administration has commissioned a major dialysis centre and is developing an advanced imaging facility, with the stated objective of reducing the need for residents to travel outside Katsina for specialised diagnostic services. In other words, Katsina is expanding its tourism potentials by joining the list of medical tourism destinations.
Another sector the Radda administration got it right in the last three years is the agriculture and the rural economy which remains central to Katsina’s economy, and Radda’s administration has made mechanisation one of its major agricultural interventions a move that has never been done in the recent history of Northern Nigeria.
The government has deployed more than 400 tractors, 10 combine harvesters and thousands of planters across the state through its agricultural mechanisation initiatives. It has also established additional mechanisation centres at local-government level across the 34 LGAs of the state.
It is on record that the administration has also invested in training young people in agriculture and agribusiness, in its attempt to combine farming with entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.
Governor Radda’s vision for Katsina as a predominantly agrarian state, is what made him to make a move towards increasing access to machinery, inputs and skills to help and assist farmers to move from subsistence production towards commercial agriculture.
It is equally vividly clear that during his three years as executive governor of Katsina state infrastructure and grassroots development received an unprecedented support as infrastructure development featured heavily in the administration’s development programme.
The government has reported work on urban and rural roads, while in July 2026 the State Executive Council approved 20.37 kilometres of township roads, alongside flood-control and water-supply projects.
Ditto, today (11/10/26) Governor Radda will flag-off the reconstruction of a 38km Bindawa-Dallaje-Doro-Giremawa-Duwan junction road in Bindawa Local Government Area.
Another feature of the administration has been its attempt to involve communities in identifying local priorities. In July 2026, consultations for the 2027 budget were conducted across all 361 political wards in the state’s 34 local government areas and these had shown how committed the administration is on people centred projects.
This approach has been presented by the government as an effort to move development planning closer to communities whose priorities tallied with that of the administration.
Radda’s administration has also placed emphasis on capital expenditure in ensuring a better and viable Katsina state. On September 30, 2026, the governor signed the N828.58 billion 2027 appropriation bill into law, with N637.85 billion, representing 76.98 per cent, allocated to capital expenditure and N190.73 billion to recurrent spending.
However, the size and composition of the budget indicate the administration’s intention to continue funding infrastructure and development projects during the next financial year as records clearly indicated that the administration had executed projects worth more than N30 billion without borrowing while maintaining salary and pension payments.
Indeed, the numerous positive transformation records of Radda administration is a vivid reason why the people of Katsina state believe strongly that there is a need for continuity. Perhaps that is why in September, the Forum of APC chairmen and caucus secretaries in Katsina passed a vote of confidence in the governor, citing progress in infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture and human-capital development, and that, is also an evidence that they have spoken the mind of an average Katsina citizen
These unmeasurable pluses of the Radda administration has upped the bar of political contest in Katsina State; leaving no room for inane criticism while introducing constructive political conversation using benchmarks for a more verifiable leadership assessment template.
Perhaps this may explain why the political space is inundated with unsubstantiated allegations of the government’s failure. There isn’t yet a single serious attempt to explain how such “failures” could be tackled in a manner different to what the Radda administration is doing. That’s normal though. Every straw is a rope in the raging sea of politics.
The 2027 contest is surely going to be Radda’s positive records against incalculable, manipulable and easily escapable promises of change. Indeed a strong positive record has been set and it is not going to be easy for the well-meaning Katsina people to do away with it.
Katsina people have voted Radda and they have seen, witnessed and felt the good deeds of their chosen governor, no doubt they will vote Radda again, because seeing is believing and feeling is a testimony.
Maiwada Dammallam is the Director General Media Directorate, Government House Katsina.
