NEW YORK — Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has called for increased private-sector participation in public development projects, saying governments must create the conditions needed to convert available capital into infrastructure, jobs and other development outcomes.
Radda made the call while delivering special remarks at the inaugural ASIS Global Action Forum, held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The forum, convened by the Sterling One Foundation in partnership with UNFPA, RALLY Africa and other organisations, brought together government officials, investors, development finance institutions, business leaders and philanthropists to discuss new approaches to financing development.
Speaking from the experience of Katsina State, Radda said the challenge was no longer simply finding financing options but attracting private capital into public projects through workable partnerships.
“Our constraint is not the absence of financing options. Katsina has benefited from 11 World Bank projects with a combined portfolio of about $430 million across education, water, rural roads, agriculture and environmental development,” he said.
The governor listed several interventions supported by development financing, including AGILE in girls’ education, BESDA and TESS in basic education, ACRESAL for land restoration, SURWASH in water supply and RAAMP for rural road development.
He also cited newer interventions, including SOLID, AGROW, SPIN and the Nigeria for Women Programme.
Radda disclosed that the African Development Bank is financing Katsina’s Agro-Industrial Processing Zone with $30 million, while the Islamic Development Bank is providing $60 million for the first phase of the state’s Integrated Agricultural Development Hubs.
Despite the availability of such financing, the governor said private capital had not yet assumed the expected role in public projects, particularly at the subnational level.
“The sources have multiplied. What has not multiplied is private capital sitting inside public projects,” he said.
According to Radda, investors are often discouraged by uncertain revenue streams, untested off-take arrangements, currency risks, inadequate project preparation and concerns about the continuity of contracts across successive administrations.
He said these challenges could be addressed through deliberate reforms and partnerships between governments and investors.
Radda identified four areas requiring attention: stronger public-private partnership (PPP) frameworks, effective de-risking mechanisms, disciplined counterpart funding, and transparent monitoring and evaluation.
He called for legally sound and transparent subnational PPP frameworks capable of surviving political transitions, as well as proper project preparation that would give investors bankable transactions with clear financial structures.
The governor also advocated the use of guarantees, first-loss capital, viability gap funding, currency hedging and political risk cover to reduce investment risks at the subnational level.
On counterpart funding, Radda said governments seeking private investment must demonstrate their capacity to meet their own financial obligations.
“In Katsina, counterpart funding is a ring-fenced, first-charge line, because a government that cannot keep its smallest financial promise cannot ask anyone to keep a larger one,” he said.
He further called for independent, data-driven monitoring of projects and adequate provision for operations and maintenance from the outset to ensure that projects remain functional beyond their initial financing.
Addressing investors directly, Radda identified opportunities in agricultural aggregation, storage, processing, logistics, mechanisation, off-take arrangements and working capital.
He urged investors to engage governments from the project-design stage so that potential risks could be addressed before investments are structured.
“Come in early. Engage us at design stage, and the de-risking you need is built into the project rather than retrofitted onto it. That protects your return and secures our impact,” he said.
The governor assured potential investors that Katsina State would continue to provide an environment for responsible investment through policy stability, respect for contracts, transparent procurement and protection of people and assets.
“Government will not be the investor of last resort. But we will guarantee the conditions in which capital thrives: policy stability, sanctity of contract, transparent procurement, security of people and assets, and leadership that treats office as a stewardship,” Radda said.
He challenged participants at the forum to translate discussions on development financing into actual investments and measurable development outcomes.
