By Sam Biodun Ogundipe in London

Kaduna State under the performing Governor, Senator Uba Sani has achieved a top-three national ranking in the 2025 State Performance Index, highlighting administrative reforms of his purposeful administration.

The recent publication of the 2025 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index (pSPI) has illuminated Kaduna State’s remarkable administrative progress, awarding the northern territory an “Excellent Four-Star Rating.” Securing the position of one of three Best performing states nationally, the ranking serves as a powerful, independent validation of the transformative governance model championed by Governor Uba Sani since he assumed office.

The Metrics of Success

The Phillips Consulting Index evaluates subnational entities across multiple rigorous parameters, including fiscal sustainability, infrastructure development, ease of doing business, and social investment. Kaduna’s impressive performance was driven largely by its aggressive digitalization of public services and stringent debt restructuring mechanisms initiated by Governor Sani.

Upon taking office, the administration inherited a complex fiscal landscape characterized by massive external debt obligations. By implementing aggressive revenue drive strategies and blocking institutional leakages, the state has significantly improved its internally generated revenue, ensuring that critical infrastructure projects remain funded despite national macroeconomic headwinds.

Fiscal Reform: Implementation of automated tax collection systems, increasing Internally Generated Revenue by over 25 percent.

Social Investment: Commitment of over N1 billion (approximately KES 86 million) to student scholarships and educational welfare.

Infrastructure: Prioritization of rural road networks to connect agricultural hubs with urban markets.

Balancing Security and Development

The core paradox of Kaduna’s success lies in its security context. The state continues to face sporadic, yet devastating, attacks from armed bandit groups. Critics often argue that economic indices mean little to populations displaced by violence. However, the Sani administration has adopted a dual-track approach: funding localized security apparatuses while simultaneously aggressively pursuing economic inclusion to dry up the recruitment pools for criminal syndicates.

Professor Usman Ibrahim, a public policy analyst at Ahmadu Bello University, notes that the administration’s focus on rural development is inherently a security strategy. “By investing in agricultural infrastructure and providing scholarships to thousands of disenfranchised youths, the government is systematically dismantling the socio-economic drivers of banditry,” Ibrahim explains. “This is a structural, long-term solution rather than a reactive military one.”

A Model for Decentralized Growth

Kaduna’s performance holds profound implications for Nigeria’s federal structure. As discussions surrounding devolution of power intensify, states that demonstrate fiscal discipline and administrative competence strengthen the argument for subnational autonomy. This dynamic mirrors the devolution debates in Kenya, where successful county governments utilize similar indices to demand greater resource allocation from the central government.