The League of Civil Society Organizations in Kano State hereby issues this formal rebuttal in response to a petition reportedly submitted by a faceless coalition of “Twenty-Five Organizations” to the Commissioner of Health, Kano State, challenging the engagement of the Centre for Gender and Social Inclusion (CAGSI) in the GAVI-funded Polio Program in Kano State.
As one of the leading umbrella bodies representing non-state actors in the state, the League considers the petition a misguided and politically motivated attempt to undermine a technical and merit-based selection process conducted in accordance with internationally recognized procurement and governance standards by the programme’s technical partner, Solina Health.
Rather than constituting a credible exercise in civic oversight, the petition reflects a troubling misunderstanding of global health governance, institutional independence, and the critical role of accountability-driven civil society organizations in public health programming.
By seeking to politicize a process governed by technical competence and established international standards, the petitioners have demonstrated a concerning lack of understanding of the principles underpinning transparent partnership, independent monitoring, and evidence-based public health interventions.
The centrepiece of the petition, the claim that CAGSI should be disqualified for its “non-partisan” stance or alleged “anti-government” leanings, is a startling admission of professional incompetence.
In the international development theatre, particularly within GAVI (The Vaccine Alliance) and the World Health Organization (WHO) frameworks, the independence of a CSO is its primary institutional asset.
The “Co-Creation” model of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) mandates that non-state actors maintain a distinct, independent identity to provide honest, data-driven feedback on service delivery.
To the petitioners, “loyalty” to a political administration is a prerequisite for public service. To the global health community, “loyalty” is to the beneficiary child and the integrity of the cold chain.
By labelling an organization “anti-government” simply because it demands accountability, the petitioners are inadvertently advocating for a “culture of silence” that leads to data falsification and the resurgence of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV).
The League clarifies that independence is not hostility; it is a technical requirement for credibility.
The League wishes to state for the record that the Centre for Gender and Social Inclusion (CAGSI), under the strategic leadership of Maryam Garba Usman, functions as a high-impact institutional vanguard for transparency and accountability within the Nigerian developmental landscape.
Far from being a nascent actor, CAGSI is a sophisticated, battle-tested organization with a robust track record in Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) and systemic oversight.
Its expansive portfolio demonstrates a high level of technical proficiency in cross-sectoral interventions, ranging from the rigorous auditing of immunization coverage and primary healthcare revitalization to the granular assessment of infrastructure and service delivery in basic education.
Furthermore, CAGSI’s commitment to general governance through the institutionalization of rights-based approaches and social inclusion for marginalized demographics underscores its role as a critical partner in fostering evidence-based, equitable, and accountable governance across Nigeria.
CAGSI’s reach extends far beyond Kano, having successfully implemented programs across several states in Nigeria. Their reputation for technical precision is exactly why they are a Focal CSO working with BudgIT.
Through the Budgit Foundation Tracka, Maryam Garba Usman and her team have been instrumental in ensuring that government programs are not just announced, but delivered with transparency and accountability to the grassroots.
To suggest that such an organization is “anti-government” is to suggest that BudgIT and other global transparency partners are also “anti-government”, a fundamentally flawed logic.
Defamation of Technical Partners: The Case of Solina Health
The petition in question represents a reckless and direct assault on the institutional integrity of Solina Health, a globally recognized technical partner distinguished for its commitment to meritocracy and evidence-based intervention.
By attempting to subvert a selection process governed by these rigorous standards, the petitioners have exposed a profound ignorance of the Technical Capacity Assessment (TCA), a multi-layered, non-discretionary crucible designed to evaluate fiscal transparency via audited financial histories, logistical competency for high-risk community mobilization, and the sophisticated data management capabilities required for high-fidelity reporting.
To challenge the outcome of this assessment is to suggest that international procurement protocols should be superseded by parochial interests; such a libellous insinuation not only threatens the credibility of technical partners who have invested significant technical capital into the Kano health system but also creates an existential risk to the donor-funded frameworks, such as GAVI, that sustain the state’s public health resilience.
If technical partners are coerced into replacing verified, competent actors with “politically compliant” alternates, it compromises the internal controls of the entire program, signalling a breakdown in accountability that could lead to the immediate withdrawal of international support.
A Breach of Accountability
A hallmark of professional advocacy is transparency. A petition signed by “Twenty-Five Organisations” without a verifiable list/name of its members, Board of Trustees (BoT), registered official address, or proven track records in Polio/Immunisation programming is intellectually bankrupt.
The League characterizes these petitioners as faceless because they lack the civic credibility they claim to protect. In the professional arena, accountability is a two-way street.
If you demand transparency from CAGSI, you must first demonstrate your own institutional existence. The absence of verifiable signatories suggests this is a “shell petition” designed for political distraction rather than health-system strengthening.
The petitioners argue that the state should only work with “friendly” CSOs. This reveals a total lack of exposure to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) standards.
Modern health programming utilizes CSOs for Independent Monitoring. If an organization is too close to the government, its data is perceived as “contaminated” by bias. The very “critical” nature that the petitioners complain about is exactly what makes CAGSI valuable to GAVI.
It ensures that when a child is missed during a “House-to-House” (H2H) campaign, the failure is reported and corrected, not hidden to please an administrator.
The petitioners’ worldview is stuck in a pre-reform era of patronage, whereas the health sector has moved into an era of Performance-Based Financing (PBF).
Their failure to grasp this shift proves they are technically unfit to guide the engagement of health sector actors. In fact, the League challenges existence of the ‘faceless’ CSO petitioner coalition to make available a list of its members, and perhaps a proper conversation can ensue.
Subverting the Interests of the Kano State Government
While the petitioners ostensibly claim to be “protecting” the interests of the Kano State Government, their actions identify them as the administration’s most significant strategic liabilities.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration has consistently signalled an uncompromising commitment to transparency and the aggressive improvement of state health indices; however, by attempting to coerce the government into a confrontation with international donors over a technical procurement contract, the petitioners are engineering a catastrophic scenario for the state.
Their pursuit of “state capture” under the guise of administrative concern sets the stage for three critical failures: Systemic Donor Withdrawal: International entities such as GAVI (The Vaccine Alliance) and the Global Fund operate under “Zero Tolerance” policies regarding political interference in technical procurement.
History in the sub-region has shown that whenever political patronage supersedes technical merit, donors do not hesitate to suspend funding, effectively de-funding the state’s healthcare backbone.
Catastrophic Audit Failures: The engagement of sub-par, “politically aligned” CSOs invariably leads to high-fidelity data gaps and “Red” ratings during independent grant reviews.
In professional health programming, poor data is not merely an administrative error; it is a financial death sentence for future grants, as seen in various jurisdictions where “manufactured compliance” led to the total loss of Performance-Based Financing (PBF).
The Moral Cost of Public Health Failure: When political loyalty is prioritized over the proven technical competence of frontline organizations like CAGSI, the ultimate victims are the children of Kano.
The inevitable outcome of replacing expert oversight with partisan complacency is a resurgence of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) and an increase in vaccine-preventable deaths.
The petitioners’ attempt to “curate” the polio program for personal or parochial gain is a transparent act of greed masquerading as loyalty.
By prioritizing their own access to the program over the state’s standing in the global health community, they are actively sabotaging the Governor’s reform agenda and gambling with the lives of the most vulnerable citizens of Kano.
Conclusion
The League of CSOs in Kano State, rejects this petition in its entirety. To entertain it would be to validate “facelessness” and reward “technical ignorance.” We stand firmly by CAGSI and Maryam Garba Usman.
Their work with the Budgit Foundation Tracka and their years of service in Third-Party Monitoring are benchmarks for what civil society should be: independent, rigorous, and unapologetically committed to the truth.
The engagement of CSOs in the Polio Programme must remain a function of credibility, capacity, and commitment.
We urge the Ministry of Health to disregard these distractions and continue its partnership with verified, competent, and internationally recognized organizations that put the health of Kano’s children above political convenience.
Endorsed By:
- Comrade Bala Abdullahi Gaduwama – Wuro Development Concerns (WDCN)
- Yusha’u Sani Yankuzo, Esq. – Centre for Human Rights and Social Advancement (CEFSAN)
- Mohammed Bello – African Centre for Innovative Research and Development (AFRI-CIRD)
- Abdullahi Y. Sule – Youth and Environmental Development Association (YEDA)
- Abdulkadir Musa Hausawa – Youth Enlightenment Forum
- Adeniyi Aremu, Esq. – Civil Society Organization for Conflict Resolution in Nigeria (CS-CRIN)
- Sani Ilyas Abdullahi, Esq. – Joint Action Front (JAF), Kano State
- Comrade Fatima A. Ibrahim – United Action for Democracy (UAD), Kano State
- Comrade Khadija Hudu A. – Justice, Accountability and Rights Advocacy Centre
- Comrade Moh’d Sani Garba – Pay it Forward Initiative
- Fatima Muhammad – Gender Inclusive and Development Support Initiative, Kano
- Aminu Sani Muhammad, Esq. – Rule of Law and Justice Advancement Network (ROLJAN)
- Comrade M. K. Adam – Societal-Based Initiative for Rights, Peace and Development (SOBIRPED)
- Fatima Ibrahim Badamasi – Gender Support and Youth Empowerment Initiative (GENSAYE)
- Buhari Abubakar Usman – Centre for Legal Orientation and Humanitarian Aid (CELOHA)
- Abdullahi Yahaya, Esq. – Publish What You Pay (PWYP), Kano State
- Comrade Auwal Salisu – Centre for Awareness Reorientation and Empowerment (CARE-Africa)
- Umar Isa Sulaiman, Esq. – Frontier for Gender Advocacy, Accountability & Empowerment Initiative.
- Maryam Garba Usman – Centre for Gender and Social Inclusion (CAGSI)
- Fatima Chabir Aliyu, Esq. – Community-Based Equal Justice Initiative
- Comrade Salisu Ibrahim Sa’eed – Kano Youth Integrity Forum
- Comrade Baraya Garba Hassan – Centre for Education, Health and Entrepreneurship Development (CEHED), Nigeria.
- Abba Bello Ahmed – Campaign for Democracy (CD), Kano State
