Katsina State Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has flagged off the distribution of 90,000 bags of assorted grains to vulnerable households across the state’s 34 local government areas, with officials directed to ensure a fair, transparent and accountable process.
The distribution was launched on Wednesday in Kaita Local Government Area, according to a statement issued by the Katsina State Government.
Each bag contains 100kg of grains, with the intervention forming part of the state government’s efforts to provide immediate support to households facing economic hardship while pursuing longer-term measures to improve food production and livelihoods.
Radda said his administration was focused on ensuring that development and government interventions reached communities at the grassroots.
“Our philosophy has remained clear: development must reach the grassroots, and the people must feel the presence and impact of government in their communities and daily lives,” the governor said.
The governor said the latest distribution was part of a wider programme of support for vulnerable residents.
He recalled previous interventions for women engaged in Koko and Kosai businesses across the state’s 361 wards, who received food items and financial assistance during Ramadan.
Radda also cited an intervention involving 7,220 widows across the state, with 20 beneficiaries selected from each ward and supported with 25kg bags of rice and ₦10,000 in cash assistance.
He acknowledged the contribution of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which he said had supported vulnerable residents in Katsina communities through rice distribution.
Katsina Links Food Aid to Wider Agriculture Strategy
The governor said the state had previously distributed another 90,000 bags of grains, comprising 30,000 bags each of millet, maize and guinea corn.
According to him, lessons from the earlier exercise had informed efforts to improve the current distribution process, particularly through the Community Level Committees operating across the state.
“The objective is not simply to distribute more, but to distribute better to improve targeting, strengthen accountability and ensure that government support reaches those for whom it is intended,” Radda said.
He stressed that while food distribution was necessary to provide relief during periods of economic difficulty, palliatives could not serve as a permanent solution to food insecurity.
Radda said his administration was therefore combining immediate interventions with investments in agriculture, irrigation, community development, youth empowerment and women’s economic participation.
The government, he said, had supported farmers with subsidised fertiliser and other agricultural inputs while expanding irrigation through solar and petrol-powered pumps, tube wells and other farm support initiatives.
“These investments are deliberately designed to strengthen food production because the most sustainable response to food insecurity is to empower our farmers to produce more food, reduce the cost of production, create rural employment and improve household incomes,” he said.
Radda said the grain distribution and agricultural interventions formed part of the same strategy of providing short-term support while strengthening the productive capacity of communities.
Radda Orders Fair Distribution Across 34 LGAs
The governor directed officials involved in the exercise to uphold fairness, transparency, accountability and inclusiveness.
He warned that personal relationships, social status or other interests must not prevent deserving residents from benefiting from the intervention.
Radda called on local government councils, traditional and religious leaders, Community Level Committees and other stakeholders to ensure that the distribution was peaceful, orderly and properly implemented.
He also highlighted the role of the Community Development Programme and its grassroots structures across the 361 wards, describing the Community Level Committees as an important mechanism for identifying community needs, coordinating interventions and providing feedback to the government.
“Government cannot claim to have solved every challenge, but we will continue to listen, continue to improve and continue to deploy the resources available to us responsibly in addressing the needs of our people,” he said.
The governor said his administration would continue investing in agriculture, education, healthcare, water supply, community infrastructure, youth development and women’s empowerment.
“Our vision is a productive Katsina State where farmers prosper, young people find opportunities, women participate meaningfully in the economy, and vulnerable citizens receive the support they need,” Radda said.
CDP to Monitor Distribution
Earlier, the State Coordinator of the Community Development Programme, Kamaladden Kabir, said the distribution of 90,000 bags demonstrated the state government’s efforts to take social interventions closer to communities.
He said the CDP structures across the 361 wards would be used to help identify and reach beneficiaries.
“This intervention is not simply about distributing food items; it is about ensuring that government support reaches communities in an organised, transparent and inclusive manner,” Kabir said.
According to him, priority would be given to vulnerable households, widows, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, low-income families and other deserving residents.
Kabir urged Community Level Committees, local government officials and traditional and religious leaders to ensure that every bag reached its intended beneficiary.
He warned against the diversion, hoarding or sale of the grains, adding that the exercise would be monitored and documented.
The Commissioner for Special Duties, Zainab Musa Musawa, said the intervention was designed to support vulnerable households and ease the impact of rising food prices.
She said beneficiaries across the 34 local government areas would receive free maize, millet, sorghum and rice.
The Chairman of Kaita Local Government Area, Bello Lawal, described the intervention as timely and beneficial to residents.
“We are really happy with this initiative. We appreciate the efforts of the administration and will continue to support its programmes,” he said.
The APC Chairman in Katsina State, Bashir Gambo Saulawa, also praised the intervention, describing it as another demonstration of the Radda administration’s commitment to residents’ welfare.
“At this time, we have to appreciate your leadership. There is no doubt that your administration has demonstrated commitment to the development of Katsina State,” Saulawa said.
Similarly, the District Head of Kaita, Sarkin Sullubawan Katsina, Alhaji Yazeed Abdulkarim Kabir Usman, commended the government for extending the intervention to vulnerable residents and called for a peaceful and transparent distribution process.
The event was attended by Deputy Governor Faruk Lawal Jobe; Principal Private Secretary Abdullahi Aliyu Turaji; members of the Katsina State Executive Council and other senior government officials.
Source: Statement issued by the Katsina State Government through the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, dated August 19, 2026.
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