From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
Stakeholders in Kaduna State gathered for the Civic Space Policy Dialogue 2.0 to review progress, identify gaps, and develop a stronger approach for participatory budgeting as part of the activities for the 2026 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Week.
Organized by Civil Impact for Sustainable Development Foundation, the dialogue brought together government officials, civil society actors, and development partners to reflect on Kaduna’s transition from closed budget processes to one of Nigeria’s most recognized models of citizen participation.
Citizens Co-chair of Participatory Budgeting under OGP Kaduna, Seth Luke, opened the session, stating that the meeting aimed to assess the current state of participatory budgeting in the state, document progress since Kaduna joined OGP, and produce a communiqué with recommendations for digital and legislative reforms.
“We just want to examine what has been done around participatory budgeting in the state, identify the challenges and gaps, and shed more light on the document for everyone to understand where we came from,” Luke said.
He added that the dialogue would also focus on strengthening digital platforms and legal frameworks to make the process more sustainable.
The OGP Point of Contact at the Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission, Tera Jeremiah, highlighted Kaduna’s consistent observance of OGP Week, reflecting the strong partnership between government and civil society.
“For us in Kaduna State, it is not just about what we do that matters. It is about civil society validating what the government has done.”
Jeremiah said. He noted that Kaduna had successfully moved from its first State Action Plan to a third, a feat that many other states are still working to achieve.
Jeremiah urged participants to engage openly and constructively, emphasizing that OGP thrives on dialogue rather than confrontation.
He cited recent efforts where government officials stayed late into the night to discuss service delivery as evidence of growing commitment.
Delivering a goodwill message, Olusegun Elemo, Executive Director of Paradigms Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), praised Kaduna’s leadership in public finance management at the state level. He recalled PLSI’s partnership with the state since 2016, including citizen-participatory audits, performance audit manuals, and support for the Public Accounts Committee.
Elemo emphasized that there is room to improve the value citizens receive from public spending and called for deeper reflection and re-strategizing. “When policies are co-produced, they yield better results than when you have a top-down approach,” he said, promising continued support for Kaduna’s public policy ecosystem.
In his keynote, BudgIT Country Director
Vahyala Kwaga said participatory budgeting is most effective when citizens shift from being passive observers to active participants in setting priorities, tracking implementation, and monitoring results. He noted that since 2018, Kaduna has become a testing ground for citizen engagement in Nigeria through reforms in public financial management and partnerships with civil society.
Kwaga warned that holding consultations alone does not guarantee accountability. “Participation without influence is not empowering, it’s just participation,” he said. He urged stakeholders to rethink inclusion, ensure timely access to data, and establish clear feedback loops so that citizen input influences decisions. He also stressed the importance of technology, civic engagement, and institutional collaboration to sustain the process.
Uchenna Arisukwu, OGP National Advisor, called for stronger political will and increased funding for OGP activities at both national and state levels. He commended Kaduna for launching the Citizen Delivery Tracker but urged citizens to take ownership by using the platform to hold government accountable.
“Participatory means that both sides are engaging, the demand and the supply side,” Arisukwu said.
Sharing Kaduna’s experience, Adejor Abel, Lead of Citizens Center for Inclusive Development and Sustain Initiative, recounted how budget documents were once restricted, and civil society engagement was censored.
Today, he said, budgets are uploaded online, town hall meetings are held, and public hearings are conducted in the House of Assembly.
Abel credited the Community Development Charter (CDC) framework for driving positive change. Since 2017, over 255 wards across Kaduna have been trained and linked to CDC champions in each local government and zone.
As a result, more than 50% of local government capital budgets now reflect citizen needs. In 2022, the framework was institutionalized to influence both state and local budgets, attracting interest from other states.
He rated Kaduna’s progress on participatory budgeting at 70-75% over the past 15 years, with the remaining gap due to the non-release and lack of cash backing for citizen-nominated projects.
“All these resources are taxpayers’ money. The utmost thing is value for money for citizens,” Abel said.
The dialogue concluded with a call for honest reflection, inclusive participation, and enforceable accountability mechanisms to ensure Kaduna’s participatory budgeting model continues to deliver tangible results for communities.
