Today, The Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, represented by the Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission, Mukhtar Ahmed, launched Kaduna State’s Infrastructure Portal. This is the first platform in Nigeria to publish data using the OC4IDS data standard.

The state has also issued a Formal Disclosure Mandate to enhance compliance with data publication in the state. This launch took place at CoST’s event at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit.

The World Bank supported states in Nigeria to have data platforms, with Kaduna publishing data on 1300 projects using the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS). But as a CoST member, Kaduna went one step further through their CoST membership, following civil society organisations highlighting gaps in data.

Learning from their experience of applying the OCDS, Kaduna aligned their data to the OC4IDS. OC4IDS expands data publication, combining contract level publication using with project-level publication from the CoST IDS. CoST Kaduna became validated as an OC4IDS publisher earlier this year.

Since then, they have been working hard to undertake training for uploading the data, proceeding to upload data from almost 1500 projects to the new platform, and ensuring that the portal is accessible. Kaduna’s Formal Disclosure Mandate will help to solidify data publication.

Mukhtar Ahmed’s organisation hosts CoST Kaduna and oversees their performance. Today, he said: “Kaduna’s infrastructure data is now open to the world, empowering citizens, civil society, private sector and development partners to monitor progress which opens the door to trust, innovation, and inclusive development. We invite the world to explore, engage, and emulate. The future of infrastructure is open, and Kaduna is leading the way.”

CoST Kaduna manager, Tara said: “This new portal means that more data will be available in priority sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and transport. Publishing and reviewing data in these sectors are vital for improving quality of life for over 10 million people living in Kaduna. We’re proud of how this work and has enabled us to work with a wide range of stakeholders.”

The creation of this platform also supports Nigeria’s Open Government Partnership commitment, as well as the several of the aims in CoST Kaduna’s annual plan. It also builds on CoST Kaduna’s achievements, including a recent affirmation of government commitment; training civil society, government, and media; and participation in events like OGP Africa.

Take a look at the portal here: https://ipdata.kdsg.gov.ng/public/home

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CoST, the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) a leading global non-profit improving transparency, participation, and accountability in infrastructure to deliver quality infrastructure that improves lives and strengthens economies. Stay up to date with our latest work through our newsletter.