Jigawa State - Government

Government

Jigawa State—created out of the old Kano State in August 1991—is one of the 36 States in Federal Republic of Nigeria. By the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, the state comprises 27 Local Government Councils, which are divided into 30 State Constituencies, grouped into 11 Federal Constituencies and 3 Senatorial Districts. These 27 Local Government Councils were further subdivided into 77 Development Areas per law No. 5 of 2004 of the State House of Assembly. In line with the democratic setting in the country, the governments at both the State and Local Government levels are elected, and comprise an Executive with a unicameral legislature. The State legislature has 30 elected members each representing one of the State Constituencies. To complete the State governance structure, there is an independent State Judiciary as the third arm of Government.

The State Government administrative apparatus is organized into Ministries, Extra-ministerial Departments and Parastatals, which are located across the three Senatorial districts in the State since 1999. This decentralized approach to overnmental administrative structure was seen as a move towards stimulating economic activities socio-economic development and empowerment over a wider area since government is the largest employer, perhaps second only to agriculture. In addition, this was also seen as a way for spreading even development among major urban centers and a shift from “city-state syndrome” that obtained in the old Kano State.