By DIG Mohammed Usaini Gumel (Rtd)
The unveiling of five-year Development Plans (2025–2030) for Jigawa State’s 27 Local Government Areas marks an important step in bringing development planning closer to the people.
Under the leadership of His Excellency, Mallam Umar Namadi, FCA, each council now has a participatory roadmap to guide its priorities, budgets, projects and programmes.
This initiative is significant not only for Jigawa State, but also for the broader Project 774 LG Philosophy: that Nigeria’s development must have a clear address in its 774 Local Government Areas.
National ambitions become meaningful when they translate into better services, stronger livelihoods and improved opportunities in the communities where people live.
Governor Namadi’s directive that the plans must guide annual budgets, work plans, resource allocation and accountability gives them practical purpose. Their success will depend on turning the documents into decisions and results—not allowing them to remain on shelves.
The plans are designed to strengthen evidence-based, people-centred planning at the grassroots. They align with the administration’s 12-Point Agenda, the Jigawa State Comprehensive Development Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals.
They also reflect priorities raised by residents through community consultations. This connection between local voices and public planning is central to the Project 774 approach: development should respond to the distinct needs and potential of each locality.
The experience of earlier initiatives, including the Local Government Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS), offers a useful lesson.
A plan can provide a sound foundation, but lasting results require a consistent link between planning, budgeting, implementation and institutional discipline. Jigawa’s new plans can help close that gap if councils use them to set clear priorities, allocate resources responsibly and report progress openly.
The next task is implementation. Councils will need to identify achievable annual targets, connect projects to available funding, monitor delivery and explain results to their communities. Progress should be visible in the quality of public services, the impact of capital projects and improvements in people’s living standards.
This work cannot be left to government alone. Traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners, the private sector and community groups all have a role in supporting implementation and strengthening local ownership.
Residents, in turn, should be able to see how their expressed priorities are reflected in decisions and outcomes.
Within the Project 774 LG Philosophy, every local government is both a planning unit and a centre of community action.
The philosophy connects formal development plans with the everyday contribution of citizens: caring for their neighbourhoods, supporting peaceful communities, protecting public assets and participating constructively in local development.
These efforts complement good governance; they do not replace the government’s responsibility to deliver services and account for public resources.
Governor Namadi’s call for faithful implementation sets the right direction. The lasting measure of these plans will be whether they improve lives across Jigawa’s 27 Local Government Areas—and whether they help demonstrate how strong local planning can contribute to Nigeria’s development across all 774 Local Government Areas.
Jigawa has established a framework. The shared responsibility now is to make it work—one council, one community and one measurable improvement at a time.
Retired DIG Gumel, the National Secretary of Project 744 Network, writes from his home in Gumel Local Government Area, Jigawa state.