The Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission Abuja, Ms. Cynthia Rowe, has completed high-level engagements with Kano and Jigawa States, reaffirming the United Kingdom’s long-term commitment to development and reform in northern Nigeria.
The engagements with state governors, senior government officials and civil society leaders, underscored the UK’s modern approach to development as a genuine partnership with Nigeria. This approach prioritises state led ownership and sustainable development that delivers lasting impact through strengthening systems and partnerships grounded in investment, trade, climate financing, technical expertise and joint accountability.
Nigeria remains one of the United Kingdom’s most significant development partners, and the engagements underlined the strength and ambition of the bilateral relationship reaffirmed during the recent UK-Nigeria State Visit.
Kano State
In Kano, Head of Development Cooperation, Cynthia Rowe, met with Deputy Governor Alhaji Murtala Sule Garo and senior officials including the newly confirmed Head of Civil Service and Secretary to the State Government. The visit recognised Kano’s progress on climate finance, health system reform and private sector investment supported through UK technical assistance.
Jigawa State
In Jigawa, she met with Governor Umar Namadi and heads of key ministries, departments and agencies. The meeting celebrated more than 25 years of UK-Jigawa partnership, one of the most longstanding bilateral development relationships at the subnational level in Nigeria. Discussions covered the state’s continued progress on health systems reform, agriculture, and governance and the path forward under UK-technical assistance.
Since 2022, PLANE has supported Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa to strengthen state-led education delivery systems, working through Ministries of Education, SUBEB and key agencies. Its RANA+ foundational learning packages have reached 1.4 million pupils across the three states, alongside wider system strengthening.
At the end of the visit, the Head of Development Cooperation, Cynthia Rowe said:
“For more than 25 years, we have worked side by side with state governments including Jigawa and Kano states, their communities, and civil society to build stronger health systems, improve learning outcomes for millions of children, support farmers to grow their businesses, and help states attract the investment they need to thrive.
These visits have reinforced our confidence in what this partnership can achieve. We are working together to deliver lasting change, and deepening a relationship built on genuine mutual respect and shared ambition for Nigeria’s growth and development.”
The UK’s Propcom+ agriculture programme is in its fourth year, working with Nigerian agribusinesses to improve food security and expand market access for smallholder farmers.
The PACE programme operates from a regional hub in Kano, providing targeted technical assistance on climate governance, revenue mobilisation and private investment.
The UK is a major financial contributor to the HOPE-Edu, HOPE-Gov and HOPE-PHC World Bank programmes, providing a mechanism for continued investment in education, health and governance reforms across participating states.
PLANE’s RANA+ foundational learning packages reached 1.4 million pupils across Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa between 2022 and 2026.
Lafiya, our flagship health programme, provides technical assistance to support government-led health systems strengthening and health reforms.
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