Uba Sani Says Kaduna Has Improved Since He Took Office

Governor Uba Sani has said that he took over a Kaduna State that has a lot of potential but also a lot of problems with security, infrastructure, and social issues that need to be fixed right away.

As part of the ongoing Nigeria Public Relations Week, Croc City 2026, which is taking place in Kaduna, the Governor spoke at a workshop for senior government officials organized by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

The workshop had the theme “From Policy to Public Trust: Strategic Communication for Vision Alignment and Governance Delivery for Renewed Hope.” It was attended by Commissioners, Special Advisers, Counsellors, Permanent Secretaries, and other high-ranking government officials.

Governor Uba Sani said at the event, “Kaduna is not where it was.” Kaduna is a much better place now, and what’s even more exciting is that it’s on the move and ready to do even bigger things and reach even higher heights.

He said that his government knew from the start that small changes wouldn’t get the State to the heights it wanted to reach. Instead, he said, what was needed was a disciplined reorientation of governance itself.

He said that his government promised that the vision must have a measurable effect, or else it will stay an aspiration.

“We set up a performance framework based on Key Performance Indicators to make sure that every ministry, department, and agency knows what they are supposed to do and is responsible for the results,” he said.

The Governor said that when he took office in 2023, he also based his agenda on seven strategic pillars. The results have been positive over the past two and a half years.

He said that the seven pillars are: making people feel safe and secure; building better infrastructure; making institutions stronger; promoting trade and investment; improving agriculture; developing human capital; and getting citizens involved.

Governor Uba Sani said that these pillars are not separate goals, but rather “interconnected levers” that work together as a system, with each one supporting the others and working toward a bigger goal: making Kaduna State a safe, prosperous, and welcoming place to live.

He said that security is the most important thing for progress to happen. He added that without it, “farmers can’t grow their crops, businesses can’t invest, and communities can’t grow.”

The Governor said that he worked closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the military high command to set up new military bases in areas that are very dangerous, such as Giwa, Birnin Gwari, and Southern Kaduna.

“We improved mobility and response by giving security agencies more than 150 operational vehicles and 500 motorcycles. “We made a Joint Task Force in our cities that has greatly cut down on street crime and banditry in general,” he said.

Governor Uba Sani went on to say that his government also focused on structural outcomes.

“We have taken back more than 20,000 hectares of farmland that was previously inaccessible. This has allowed farmers to get back to work, especially in places like Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and Kargarko.

“We have helped over 1,000 displaced people move to new homes and continue to give targeted help to more than 117,000 internally displaced people, with a focus on women and children,” he said.

The Governor also said that his government has set up Northern Nigeria’s first forensic lab, which has made investigations stronger.

The Kaduna Incident Report Centre (KAD-IR) now has a 24-hour platform for real-time emergency response. He said, “There are early warning systems in place to find and calm tensions before they get worse.”

He says that Kaduna State has made peace talks a regular part of its government, set up local peace councils, and put in place a framework for rehabilitation and reintegration that puts learning new skills ahead of money as part of its non-violent strategy.

He said that while the result isn’t perfect, “security is getting better, confidence is coming back, and economic activity is slowly growing in places that were once thought to be off-limits.” The Kaduna Peace Model is what we now call all of this.

Governor Uba Sani also said that his government has made big strides in education by making planned investments to make it easier for people to get an education and make it better.

“We have built 736 new classrooms and fixed up more than 1,200 old ones. He said, “We have hired 10,000 teachers and trained more than 33,000 education workers in new ways of teaching and using technology.”

The Governor said that “one of our biggest successes has been cutting the number of kids who aren’t in school from about 550,000 to 187,720 in two years.”

He went on to say, “This progress shows that there is not only investment, but also coordination, data-driven interventions, and ongoing engagement with communities.”

Governor Uba Sani also said that his government is making sure that education is in line with what a modern economy needs.

“The creation of the Institute of Vocational Training and Skills Development is a big step toward closing the gap between education and work.

He said, “We are getting our young people ready for jobs, but also for productivity and innovation by training them in ICT, mechatronics, renewable energy, and other high-demand fields.”

The Governor also said that in the last two and a half years, he has made it easier for people to get health care, made health facilities better, and made systems stronger.

“We have turned 255 Primary Healthcare Centers into Level-2 facilities and opened 23 Centers of Excellence, one in each Local Government Area.” “We have built a 300-bed specialist hospital to provide advanced medical services within the state, which cuts down on the need for expensive medical travel,” he said.

He said that his government has started about 150 road projects, which will cover more than 1,300 kilometers across all 23 Local Government Areas.

He said that the projects are “part of a deliberate strategy to connect rural production centers to urban markets, cut down on travel time, and boost trade.”

The Governor said that this year he has raised the agricultural budget from ₦1.48 billion in 2023 to over ₦74 billion. He has also given farmers more than 900 trucks of fertilizer and signed up more than 100,000 smallholders for crop insurance to protect them from risk.

He went on to say, “Through the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones in Chikun and Kubau, we are moving from subsistence farming to value-added agribusiness, which creates jobs, raises incomes, and boosts export potential.”

He says that Kaduna State has made it easier for the private sector to grow.

He said that his government has made 23 investments worth more than $743 million between 2023 and 2025, covering important areas like agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and more.

We have also built up a pipeline of investments worth about $2.77 billion. “This brings our total investment portfolio to over $3.5 billion, which is a clear sign that confidence in Kaduna is growing,” he said.

The Governor also said that his government has made a lot of progress in social protection and inclusion by opening more than 2.5 million new bank accounts for people who don’t have them and making it easier for people to get money.

He said that his government has sent more than ₦18 billion in targeted help to families, farmers, and small businesses.

He went on to say, “Our free CNG mass transit program has already helped more than 1.4 million passengers by lowering the cost of transportation and making life easier for families.”

Governor Uba Sani said, “Through Project 255, we are guaranteeing ₦100 million in public investment to each ward, making sure that development reaches every community, both urban and rural.”