By Zakari Haruna Isah
The Kaduna State Government has urged non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the state to strengthen communication and collaboration with relevant government authorities to improve coordination, access to support and the sustainability of development interventions.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Kaduna State Governor on NGOs made the call at the NGO Sustainability and Impact Investment Summit 2026 (NSIS 2.0), held in Kaduna, with the theme, “Reimagining Impact.”
The aide said NGOs could not operate in isolation and expect government support without making their activities, projects and areas of coverage known to the authorities.
“You cannot just start operating in the state and then complain that the government is not supporting you. We need to know what you are doing. We need to know your area of coverage. And then we need to know where the government can come in to support you,” the official said.
According to the Senior Special Assistant, government awareness of NGO activities was necessary to identify areas of possible partnership and ensure that interventions were properly coordinated.
The official said the summit itself demonstrated the benefits of collaboration between government and civil society organisations, noting that the programme brought together a large number of NGOs and relevant stakeholders.
The aide also identified sustainability as a major concern in the NGO sector, stressing that some projects and interventions become difficult to maintain once their funding or programme cycles end.
The official therefore called for stronger partnerships involving government, NGOs and the private sector to ensure that development projects produce lasting benefits for communities.
Also speaking at the summit, the Secretary and Executive Director, Legal Services, Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), Barrister Aisha Ahmad Mohammad, urged NGOs to comply with relevant tax laws and fulfil their annual filing obligations, irrespective of their non-profit status.
Ahmad explained that although NGOs were generally non-profit organisations, their status did not completely exempt them from taxation, as certain obligations and exceptions applied under the law.
“Behind every general rule there is an exception,” she said, stressing that NGOs were required to comply with applicable tax provisions.
She said organisations were also expected to file their annual returns, warning that failure to meet the obligation could attract penalties.
According to her, KADIRS takes action against organisations that fail to file their returns by the end of the first quarter of the year.
“We are calling for everyone, as normal as usual, each and every citizen to be tax compliant. Just comply with the provisions of the law, and everything will go on smoothly,” Ahmad said.
Speaking on the Nigeria’s new tax laws, she said the reforms were designed to reduce the burden on low-income earners and small businesses.
She cited provisions under which individuals earning below N800,000 annually would not be subject to Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), while businesses with capital below N50 million would also receive tax relief.
Ahmad also commended the Kaduna State Government for programmes aimed at improving the livelihoods of vulnerable residents, including free space-acquisition initiatives accompanied by training and starter kits to help beneficiaries establish sustainable livelihoods.
Head of Legal KADIRS
On the state’s revenue performance, she expressed confidence that Kaduna would continue to meet its revenue targets, saying KADIRS had consistently surpassed its targets from 2020 through 2022 and had already achieved more than 78 per cent of its current target at the time of the interview.
“We have never failed in our target,” she said, urging individuals, businesses and organisations to remain compliant to strengthen the state’s revenue base and support government programmes.
The Executive Director of Voice of the Girl Child and Vulnerable People Foundation, Aisha Bello, meanwhile, called for stronger partnerships and networking among NGOs, particularly grassroots organisations, saying collaboration was critical to achieving sustainable impact and improving access to funding
Bello said NGOs needed to understand the rules governing their operations and strengthen their institutional capacity to qualify for and successfully implement development projects.
“NGO is not easy, it’s not for the weak,” she said, stressing the need for organisations to understand the responsibilities that come with establishing and operating an NGO.
She disclosed that more than 200 NGOs had initially registered for the summit, while participation rose to about 300 after government agencies and other organisations joined the event.
Bello said networking was particularly important because NGOs could not achieve meaningful impact by working in isolation.
“Impact cannot strive alone, in isolation,” she said.
According to her, many international organisations provide grants and donations but depend on local NGOs to implement projects at the grassroots.
She urged local organisations to therefore look beyond dependence on individual grants by building partnerships and working collectively towards common development objectives.
“How can we work together as a team, partnering with other local organisations like ours to be able to achieve the same goal or similar goals,” she asked.
Bello said Kaduna was selected to host the summit because it was her hometown, where she was born, established her organisation and had implemented several projects.
She noted that grassroots NGOs continued to face challenges in accessing funding and gaining visibility despite the impact of their interventions.
“The local ones, the grassroots, are the ones that truly need funding,” she said.
Bello disclosed that Muslim Charity UK had supported several organisations in Kaduna and said she had facilitated its presence in the state to enable more local NGOs to benefit from its interventions.
Coordinator of Muslim Charity
Also speaking, Damaris Jeremiah, Coordinator of Muslim Charity Helping the Needy UK in Nigeria, urged NGOs to adapt to changing donor and funding strategies by prioritising sustainability, accountability and measurable impact.
Jeremiah said donors and investors were increasingly interested not only in the immediate activities of NGOs but also in whether their interventions could produce lasting improvements in the lives of beneficiaries.
She urged organisations to move beyond constantly seeking their next grant and instead develop programmes capable of creating sustainable impact within communities.
She encouraged NGOs to design projects that would enable beneficiaries to become financially independent after interventions ended, rather than creating long-term dependence on humanitarian assistance.
Jeremiah also urged organisations to consider social enterprises that could generate income and provide alternative funding streams for their humanitarian activities.
The summit therefore focused on strengthening government-NGO collaboration, improving regulatory and tax compliance, expanding networking among grassroots organisations and promoting sustainable approaches to humanitarian and development interventions.
Participants were encouraged to demonstrate measurable impact, improve accountability, build stronger partnerships and develop alternative sources of funding capable of sustaining projects beyond individual grant cycles.
The discussions also highlighted the need for NGOs to make their activities known to the government, comply with relevant laws and build institutional capacity if they are to attract support and deliver lasting development outcomes across Kaduna State.