State development
Why Governor Dauda Lawal Should Continue Rebuilding The Future Of Zamfara Through Investment in Education
By: Bashorun Oladapo Sofowora
For those who know Zamfara State before Governor Dauda Lawal became Governor will appreciate the current situation in the state. The state, which used to be in the rubble, has been reconstructed into a powerhouse within its geographical location and has become an envy of others. All thanks to the visionary rescue mission 1.0 spearheaded by Governor Dauda Lawal, PhD, in 2023, when he was elected Governor of the agrarian and mineral-rich state.
Just three years ago, education in Zamfara State was in a Comatose state. It was nonexistent. No functional primary and secondary schools conducive to learning. The narrative was one of despair: schools as ghost towns, examination halls locked by creditors, and a generation of children seemingly abandoned by systemic neglect. But for Governor Dauda Lawal, a leader who views governance not as a relay race but as a rescue mission, the story has changed with just three years in charge of the affairs of the state.
When he assumed office, the education sector wasn’t just ailing; clinically, it was on life support. Massive debts had piled up, teachers had vanished into thin air and the number of out-of-school children was skyrocketing on a daily basis. However, two years into the “Lawal era,” the sound of silence in Zamfara’s classrooms has been replaced by the sound of flipping of new textbooks and the scratching of pens on examination answer sheets.
One of the cruellest legacies Governor Lawal inherited was the hostage crisis of student futures. Students could not write exams, classes were dilapidated and qualified teachers. Past administrations had failed to remit examination fees to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO). Consequently, thousands of bright Zamfaran students saw their results withheld not because they failed, but because the state failed them. Some had to travel to neighbouring towns like Sokoto, Katsina and Kano to enrol for exams risking their lives.
In a dramatic move that sent shockwaves through the opposition, Governor Lawal reached into the state’s coffers and cleared the backlog of a staggering: ₦1.4 billion to WAEC covering debts from 2018 to 2022, and a combined payment of over ₦1.34 billion to NECO covering debts from 2014 to 2021. The immediate effect was the release of all previously withheld results, allowing students to finally apply for higher education. Furthermore, the state fully funded the 2024 WAEC examinations, ensuring that no child was barred from sitting for their finals due to a lack of funds.
Governor Lawal after his swearing in, declared a State of Emergency on Education in November 2023, this meant that governance moved from the air-conditioned offices in Gusau to the muddy fields of rural schools across the state. He rolled his sleeves and got to work almost immediately fixing the rot he met. Available data from the Zamfara State Government reveals that the state has embarked on the construction and renovation of over 500 schools across all 14 Local Government Areas. This is not a cosmetic paint job, the administration is investing in modern, safe, and dignified learning environments:
Classroom Revolution: Through the UBEC-ZSUBEB Matching Grant and AGILE projects, contracts worth over ₦5.9 billion have been awarded to build schools meeting global standards.
Furniture Supply: The administration has distributed over 12,000 two-seater desks for students and over 1,000 chairs for teachers, ending the era where pupils sat on bare floors to learn.
Recruitment of more teachers and supply of more textbooks: Infrastructure without manpower is a shell. When Governor Lawal looked at the teacher-to-pupil ratio in the state, he saw a crisis. In a decisive move to reverse the brain drain, he approved the massive recruitment of 2,000 qualified teachers.
The recruitment is strategic, the first batch of 500 focuses on critical science subjects (English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics), preparing Zamfaran youth for the 21st-century economy. The government is also finalising a 120-day Rapid Intervention Action Plan to audit payrolls, map schools, and secure school environments from illegal encroachment.
For the 2025 fiscal year, Governor Lawal presented a “Rescue Budget 2.0” of N545 billion. The largest single allocation, N79.6 billion, representing 14% of the entire budget, went to Education. For 2026, the proposed budget allocates an additional N65 billion to sustain this momentum. However, a journey to the Renaissance is not complete. It is at this critical inflexion point that the people of Zamfara face a defining choice. Before Governor Lawal, Zamfara was a state where students were barred from exams due to unpaid debts. Today, those chains are broken completely. But the enemy of progress is not just failure; it is interruption. The gains made in education are still fragile and need continuous consolidation. The newly recruited teachers need continuous training and the 500 renovated schools need constant security and maintenance. The unified Education Sector Bill, designed to create a seamless system from early childhood to tertiary level, is still awaiting full legislative maturity.
To stop the “Rescue Mission 2.0” now would be to hand the baton back to those who drove the system into educational bankruptcy. The same political forces that allowed the debt to accumulate to over N2 billion are already regrouping eyeing 2027. They promise something different, but their records speak of withheld results and abandoned classrooms. Governor Dauda Lawal is not merely constructing classrooms; he is dismantling the architecture of ignorance that held Zamfara backwards for decades. He has proven that with political will, the “Education Governor” can turn around a sector that was declared dead.
To secure this legacy, to ensure that children never again sit on bare floors and to guarantee that WAEC and NECO never again hold Zamfaran results hostage, the mission must continue for a secured future. The vote for continuity is a vote for the future. By re-electing Governor Dauda Lawal, Zamfara will not just be learning to read and write, but also to win in all ramifications and also put the state on a winning streak.
Zamfara State Government under the leadership of Governor Dauda Lawal has earmarked N7.2 billion for development projects across 375 communities in the state, under the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES), a World Bank-funded initiative. Deputy Governor Mani Mummuni disclosed this in Gusau on Tuesday while flagging off a free project implementation training programme for participants drawn from 158 communities across the state.
He explained that Governor Dauda Lawal had approved the N7.2 billion for various community development projects through the State Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA), adding that the funds would finance projects spanning health, education, water supply, agriculture and drainage, among others, across the state’s 14 Local Government Areas. The deputy governor noted that the projects would be implemented by Community Project Monitoring Committees (CPMCs) under the supervision of the CSDA, and reiterated the state government’s commitment to providing social amenities to vulnerable communities.
Mummuni urged participants to ensure transparency and accountability in managing resources for project execution in their communities, describing the initiative as part of Governor Lawal’s administration’s effort to extend the dividends of democracy to the people, especially at the grassroots level. He expressed confidence that the training under CSDA would encourage community participation in project implementation, while also promoting transparency, accountability, and commitment to the development of their communities.
In his remarks, the General Manager of CSDA, Umar Nakwada, revealed that the participants were drawn from CPMCs responsible for monitoring projects in their communities, and that the training was designed to sensitise them on effective project implementation. He stated that the training covered Batch A projects worth N3.2 billion, spanning 158 communities, and assured that the agency would ensure effective monitoring of all projects to be implemented by CPMC members in benefiting communities. Nakwada also commended Governor Lawal for his unwavering support in improving the livelihoods of grassroots communities.
Also speaking, the State NG-CARES Coordinator, Mukhtar Ibrahim, praised the Zamfara Government for its commitment to supporting the livelihoods of vulnerable households. He explained that NG-CARES aims to expand access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms, focusing on three result areas: livelihood and social support, food security and agricultural value chain, as well as micro and small enterprises recovery. small enterprises recovery,” Ibrahim said.
State development
Governor Dauda Lawal Reshuffles Cabinet, Harps on Strengthening Governance Efficiency
His Excellency, Dr. Dauda Lawal, Executive Governor of Zamfara State, has approved a minor cabinet reshuffle involving three Honourable Commissioners as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen governance and enhance service delivery across the State.
Announcing the development, the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government, Malam Abubakar Mohammad Nakwada, stated that the redeployment is aimed at strategically repositioning key Ministries for greater efficiency and effective implementation of the Administration’s Rescue Agenda.
The affected Commissioners are:
I. Hon. Abdulrahaman Tumbido, redeployed from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources;
II. Hon. Kasimu Yahya Kaura, redeployed from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development; and
III. Hon. Tasiu Musa Shinkafi, redeployed from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The redeployment takes immediate effect.
Governor Lawal has directed the affected Commissioners to ensure a smooth transition and complete all necessary handing-over processes within one week.
The Governor further charged them to bring renewed vigour, dedication, and innovation to their new assignments, while remaining focused on delivering tangible benefits to the people of Zamfara State in line with the objectives of the Rescue Agenda.
His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Zamfara State, Dr. Dauda Lawal, has officially approved the sum of N3.2 billion for the complete renovation, accreditation, and commencementof academic activities at the Zamfara State School of Nursing and Health Sciences, located in Zurmi Local Government Area. This was confirmed in an official statement released marking a major intervention in the state’s ailing healthcare education sector, which has suffered years of neglect and infrastructural decay.
According to government sources, the funds will be channeled into three critical areas: the overhauling of lecture halls, administrative blocks, student hostels, and practical demonstration labs to meet modern standards; the settlement of regulatory fees and implementation of curriculum upgrades required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN); and enabling the school to admit its first batch of students in over five years, with a focus on midwifery, community health and general nursing. Speaking on the development, the state Commissioner for Health described the approval as a new chapter in healthcare manpower development, noting that the Zurmi school has remained non-functional for nearly a decade due to poor infrastructure and loss of accreditation.
Governor Dauda Lawal is not just renovating a school but rebuilding the backbone of primary healthcare delivery in Zamfara, adding that without trained nurses and community health workers, the state’s hospitals cannot function and that this N3.2 billion investment will change the narrative.
Residents of Zurmi and prospective students have greeted the news with excitement, with many having lost hope of ever seeing the institution reopen. Governor Dauda Lawal, who has made health sector revitalization a cornerstone of his administration, was quoted as saying that his government remains committed to accessible, quality education and healthcare across all 14 local government areas of the state, adding that no Zurmi child should travel hundreds of kilometers just to become a nurse. The state government has issued a directive to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to ensure the project is completed within nine months, with accreditation visits scheduled to begin before the end of the current fiscal year.
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