Kaduna Financial Inclusion Rises to 66%, Says Finance Commissioner

Sunday Okobi

Kaduna State yesterday stated that it has increased its account ownership by 20 per cent in three years, adding more than 800,000 adults to the formal economy.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, who disclosed this in a statement made available to THISDAY, stated that financial inclusion in Kaduna State has now also reached 66 per cent of the resident population.

  Mohammed noted: “Kaduna grew at 6.67 percent per year over 2021-2024 (over 20 per cent total) while Nigeria overall grew at only 2.67 per cent per year over a similar period. More than 2.5 million accounts were opened; more than 800,000 adults joined the banking system for the first time; women’s inclusion climbed from 38 per cent to 47 per cent; and agent banking expanded to over 2,800 active agents statewide.

“A hands-on, homegrown effort was crucial to these gains. Kaduna’s Financial Inclusion and Literacy Committee deployed state-led enrolment drives and built its own software linking 7.9 million NINs with BVNs.” 

“This was the highest per-capita NIN registration rate among Nigeria’s 36 states.”

He stated that these achievements and the lessons behind them are detailed in the state’s new report: ‘The Last Mile: Kaduna’s Financial Inclusion Journey’, released today.

“We are proud of how far Kaduna State has come. Millions now have access to formal financial services for the first time. The next phase is about turning that access into real empowerment. Our ambition is clear: to ensure that more citizens use these tools in ways that strengthen their livelihoods, their resilience, and their connection to government services.

“Kaduna is building a digital economy that works for everyone, every day,” the commissioner stated.

Mohammed noted that on Kaduna State’s Approach, which is based on ‘People-focused, Practical and Proactive’, “When the Kaduna State Government introduced social safety net programmes following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it faced a challenge. More than half of the residents lacked bank accounts to receive funds.

“The state identified three underlying reasons for its low financial inclusion: identity management was yoked with state and federal  databases being disconnected from each other; identity verification and bank account registration were slow and depended on manual processes; and physical bank branches were too far away from residents.”

He further disclosed in the statement that the state adopted a people-focused, practical, and proactive framework to improve the material well-being of Kaduna residents.

“The state digitised government payments (pensions, farmer subsidies, emergency cash transfers) to help improve the lives of residents, create demand for bank accounts, and lead to higher account usage.

“Identity and bank account enrolment had to be easy and close to residents. The Kaduna State government deployed agents in urban clusters and tracked low agent coverage in remote areas via public maps.

“The state was proactive, as it intermediated between the federal government and banks to solve infrastructure gaps. In 2021, the state built software to link the state identity management agency (KADRIMA) records with NINs, which were then pushed to banking systems to register BVNs,” he stated.

 On the challenges to financial inclusion, he said: “There is a stark gender gap in bank account ownership. Only 53 percent of women are financially included as compared to 71 percent of men, an 18 percent gap. This reflects lower handset ownership; poor digital literacy; persistent safety and cultural issues that block uptake; and a lack of utility as bank accounts are not designed for small informal traders.”

The finance commissioner added that moving from financial inclusion to creating real value in people’s lives also requires sustained efforts.

According to him, “Only 38 percent of the 2.5 million opened accounts were actively used with more than three transactions per month. Only 11 percent have access to credit, insurance, and investment products.”

He said that as part of its 2025-2026 strategy roadmap, Kaduna State will focus its efforts on five areas, including “Financial Literacy and Awareness – Promoting knowledge of benefits and consumer protection through schools and community programmes. Inclusive Access to Financial Services – Expanding access to affordable financial services, including savings, credit, insurance, and payments for households, women, youth, smallholders, and MSMEs.

“Identity Integration and Easy Account Enrolment: Making account opening and access to services easier by linking state enrolment points with national ID systems and simplifying onboarding processes. “Improving digital connectivity at state service points, strengthening the ability of ministries, agencies, and local governments to plan, coordinate, and monitor initiatives, and creating conditions that support agriculture and MSMEs, and institutionalisation and sustainability – embedding financial inclusion objectives into Kaduna State’s development policies and programmes, supported by effective coordination across ministries and LGAs.”