Katsina State’s fiscal story in 2024 mirrors that of many northern states: a heavy reliance on monthly allocations from Abuja, mixed with a growing ambition to stand on firmer financial footing. But unlike some of its peers, Katsina—under Governor Dikko Umaru Radda—appears to be charting a more deliberate path toward revenue reform, digital transformation, and fiscal autonomy.
The numbers tell the first half of the story. In 2024, Katsina derived 80.23% of its recurrent revenue from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). That means for every ₦100 the state spent, ₦80 came from the federal purse. Yet, behind the dependency is a quiet restructuring of how Katsina earns its own money—a restructuring that is slowly changing the state’s revenue identity.
Since taking office, Governor Radda has pushed an aggressive overhaul of the state’s internal revenue machinery. A digital central billing system—described by officials as the first in Katsina’s history—now allows residents and businesses to make tax payments linked to their Tax Identification Numbers from anywhere. The result has been immediate and visible.
By the first quarter of 2024, Katsina’s IGR had surged by 127%, climbing from ₦1.79 billion in early 2023 to ₦4.08 billion. By mid-2024, the state posted a record ₦1.86 billion in a single month, up from the ₦700–800 million typical before the reforms. The Katsina Internal Revenue Service credits the spike to the plugging of leakages, digitization, and a more structured approach to revenue mobilization.
Radda’s government is not hiding its ambitions. The target is ₦140 billion IGR by 2026, with a longer-term goal of funding the state’s recurrent expenses—especially salaries—entirely from IGR by 2027. While the figures are bold, the intention signals a shift: Katsina wants to move from a consumption economy to a contributory one.
Katsina’s journey is not occurring in isolation. Across the Northwest and wider northern region, states are grappling with similar fiscal realities—high FAAC dependence and the growing urgency to expand their tax bases.
Kano, for example, doubled its IGR in 2024, hitting ₦74.77 billion—one of the fastest jumps in the country. Yet the state remains heavily FAAC-dependent, with over 81% of its recurrent revenue coming from federal allocations in 2023. Its revenue reforms—driven by restructuring the Kano Internal Revenue Service and widening the tax dragnet—have produced impressive numbers, but Kano, like Katsina, still walks with a federal crutch.
Kaduna stands out somewhat differently. For nearly a decade, the state has maintained an average IGR of about ₦44.82 billion, positioning it as one of the stronger non-oil IGR states in northern Nigeria. BudgIT’s fiscal assessments often classify Kaduna as a state capable of funding at least half of its operating costs from internal revenue. Yet the state, too, relies significantly on FAAC to stay afloat.
Across the region, the story repeats itself: Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Zamfara, and even Kano depend on federal allocations to finance most of their yearly spending. The difference lies in the speed and sincerity of reform. And in that space, Katsina is emerging as a state attempting to break the pattern.
The seven states of the Northwest—Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Jigawa—share a fiscal paradox. While they host millions of economically active people, their tax nets remain shallow. Large informal economies, low documentation of businesses, limited digital tax systems, and administrative leakages mean states rely on FAAC not by choice but by design.
Yet reforms are taking shape, unevenly but noticeably:
* Kano is leveraging urban commercial activity and centralized tax enforcement.
* Kaduna leans on a decade of institutionalized revenue reforms.
* Katsina is betting on digital systems, community-driven tax compliance, and an expanding enterprise database.
* Jigawa, Kebbi, and Zamfara remain slower in reform momentum, with IGR systems still largely manual.
For most of these states, FAAC dependence remains the binding thread. In the 2024 revenue ranking, Sokoto (92.17%), Kebbi (83.48%), Zamfara (70.18%), and even Kano (75.44%) all show higher dependence percentages than Katsina’s.
The northern fiscal landscape is shifting. Citizens are increasingly aware that allocations alone cannot fund capital projects, social services, and security operations. The need for states to build tax cultures—not just tax systems—is becoming clearer.
Katsina’s approach is noteworthy because it couples revenue ambition with development strategies. The Radda administration is investing in agriculture, water infrastructure, SME data systems, and local government fiscal autonomy—areas that can grow the productive economy and, by extension, the tax base.
Katsina is not yet a model of fiscal independence. But it is becoming a model of fiscal intention—an example of a northern state embracing technology, tightening leakages, and pushing citizens gradually into a documented, accountable economic environment.
If the reforms continue, and if public trust grows alongside visible development, Katsina could, in a few years, stand in the same conversation as Lagos, Ogun, or even Kaduna in terms of internal revenue capability.
For now, the state remains a study in tension: caught between federal dependence and a determined roadmap toward financial self-reliance.
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