Yobe HCD-DD, Lafiya UK End Workshop with Renewed Focus on Results-Based Governance
By Ahmed I Abba
The Yobe State Human Capital Development–Demographic Dividend (HCD-DD), supported by Lafiya UK Project, has concluded a three-day workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework aimed at improving the implementation of human capital initiatives in the state.
The training, which held from Oct. 22 to Oct. 24 at Dutse Royal Hotel, Jigawa State, focused on equipping members of the HCD-DD technical team with practical knowledge and tools for tracking progress and measuring results in key development sectors.
Malam Usman M. Bura, the Yobe State Focal Person on HCD-DD, said the workshop marked a significant milestone in the operationalisation of the state’s Human Capital Development Strategic Plan (2025–2027).
He explained that the three-day session focused on the four priority pillars of the HCD-DD initiative — health and nutrition, education, youth empowerment, and women empowerment — with emphasis on data generation and evidence-based reporting.
“The training was designed to enable technical officers understand how to generate reliable data that reflect the state’s performance in the four thematic areas. From the participants’ level of engagement, I am convinced they now understand what is required of them,” Bura said.
He noted that the session also provided an opportunity to harmonise institutional roles and strengthen coordination among ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) working on HCD-DD-related programmes.
Bura commended Lafiya UK for its continued technical and financial support, adding that the outcomes of the workshop would guide the HCD-DD secretariat in evaluating the state’s progress since the launch of its strategic plan earlier in the week.
Mr Musa Muhammad, a consultant and lead facilitator, said the workshop achieved its three main objectives: building the capacity of frontline personnel on data demand and use, developing a comprehensive M&E framework, and creating a resource mobilisation plan.
Mr Muhammad, also a member of the Chartered Institute of Human Capital Development, explained that the plan would help coordinate development investments across sectors and engage diverse stakeholders, including philanthropists and civil society organisations, to support human capital initiatives in the state.
“The participants have developed key indicators that will allow both internal and external stakeholders to track the progress of Yobe’s HCD-DD implementation,” Muhammad said.
In his remarks, Alhaji AbdulRahman Malik, Statistician-General and the state’s Chief Executive Officer Bureau of Statistics, described the exercise as timely and critical to ensuring accountability in implementing the new strategic plan.
“With the adoption of this M&E framework, Yobe now has a clear tool to measure progress in education, health, youth and women empowerment. It will also help address persistent data challenges and strengthen planning,” Malik said.
Dr Abdullahi Muhammad Jawa, HCD-DD Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, said the workshop provided a platform to harmonise data collection processes among MDAs. He therefore encouraged participants to immediately apply the framework upon return to their offices.
He appealed to other development partners to complement Lafiya UK’s efforts in strengthening human capital outcomes across the state.
“We have made remarkable progress, and even the national team of Lafiya has commended Yobe as a model that other states can learn from,” Jawa said.
Similarly, Mr Modu Maidugu, the State Director of the National Population Commission (NPC), said the commission would continue to play a leading role in providing demographic data to support evidence-based planning.
He described the workshop as successful, noting that the development of a unified M&E framework would help track results across health, education, and employment sectors.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the State Bureau of Statistics, National Population Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, and key MDAs, including the Ministries of Women Affairs, Youth and Social Development, and Employment and Wealth Creation among others.
Participants during group work at the three-day M&E Framework workshop by Yobe HCD-DD Secretariat and Lafiya UK Project in Dutse, Jigawa State.
