We’re Building A Digital System To Serve Every Katsina Resident – Radda

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to building an inclusive digital system that captures and serves every resident of Katsina State, declaring that no citizen will be left behind in the state’s digital transformation journey.

Speaking while receiving a delegation from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Digital Public Infrastructure National Working Group, the governor said his government’s digital reforms are designed to ensure that governance works for all, from urban centres to remote communities.

“We’re building a digital drive to carry every Katsina resident. Our focus is to create a system where every person is recognized, every service is reachable, and governance becomes faster, fairer, and more transparent”, he said.

The governor explained that the state’s digital transformation goes beyond technology deployment, describing it as a governance reform strategy aimed at solving long-standing administrative challenges.

According to him, Katsina previously faced issues such as fragmented identity systems, disconnected government databases, and poor coordination among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

To address this, the administration adopted Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as the foundation for a whole-of-government reform.

This led to the development of the iKatsina Framework, a unified platform for resident identity management, data governance, and interoperability across government institutions.

Governor Radda emphasized that the digital identity component is key to delivering social services, planning development projects accurately, and ensuring that government interventions reach the right people.

“When you know your residents properly, you plan better. You deliver better healthcare, education, social support, and security services. Digital Public Infrastructure helps government serve people, not just run offices,” he said.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum delegation commended Katsina State for taking a leading role in institutionalizing digital governance, noting that other states are already looking at the iKatsina Framework as a model.

The governor, however, stressed that the ultimate goal remains the people, assuring that the system is being designed with strong attention to data security and privacy while making services more accessible to ordinary citizens.

Governor Radda also pledged that Katsina would continue to collaborate with national and subnational partners to strengthen digital governance in Nigeria, while sharing its experience to support other states embarking on similar reforms.

The  leader of the NGF Digital public infrastructure, Mr Sina Ayatola, praised Governor  Radda for positioning Katsina State as a national leader in the adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), describing the state’s approach as a benchmark for digital governance reform across Nigeria.

According to the NGF, Governor Radda’s digital reform vision has tackled long-standing governance challenges, including fragmented resident identity systems, siloed government data, duplicated records, and weak interoperability among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

The Forum noted that the administration recognized early that sustainable reform required more than stand-alone digital projects, placing DPI at the center of institutional and governance restructuring.