Kaduna
and Zamfara state governments have no functional web presence, despite
the current digital communication advancement across the world, findings
by our correspondent have shown.
But for many other state governments in
the North-West, it is a season of website reconstruction. At least,
three state governments in the region – Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi – are
currently reworking their portals.
On the katsina.gov.ng, the
supposed portal of the Katsina State Government, the only message found
on the blank space, on Sunday, said the site was
under construction.
Findings, however, show that the notice has remained like this on the
site for many months now.
With its site currently taken down, there are no alternate platforms such as social media where it relates with the people. On Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and
several other platforms where a few state governments have been
engaging their residents, there is no single account traceable to the
Katsina State Government.
Sokoto State Government’s sokotostate.gov.ng,
as in the case of Kastina, is also undergoing reconstruction. The state
government says the site, which is being handled by Aimtech
Communications Limited, will be ready in about a week’s time.
The online profiles of the government of
Kaduna, a supposed metropolitan state, and Zamfara are, perhaps, the
worst in the North-West geopolitical zone.
While Katsina and Sokoto have domain
names, though they are being overhauled, search engines consulted on
Sunday could not trace those of Kaduna and Zamfara state governments.
On further search on the web pages, zamfarastate.net and kadunastate.gov.org pumped up with several other web-based results. However, both URL addresses were unavailable as of Sunday.
The status of the Kaduna State Government, especially, contradicts its Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s soaring social media brand.
With 649,000 Twitter followers,
el-Rufai is currently the most followed Nigerian politician on the site.
The governor surpasses President Muhammadu Buhari’s combined following
on @NGRPresident and @MBuhri.
On Facebook as well, e-Rufai’s verified account is active and highly-rated in terms of visibility. On Facebook, he has over 500, 000 fans. His just-unveiled official Twitter page – @GovKaduna – is also gaining relevance by the day; it has over 7,000 users to its credit already.
Yet, the governor’s social performances
have yet to motivate his government. It has yet to sign up on the same
platforms where the governor is currently a ‘star’.
The Kebbi State Government is almost in the category of Kaduna and others. But Kebbi State Government is credited with kebbistate.com. The site admin, however, says the content amounts to sample of what is to be unveiled soon as Kebbi State’s site.
“Kebbistate.com is dedicated to
the development of Kebbi State. We will, work as a team, make Kebbi
State greater. Please check back regularly for updates. We hope to help
raise political awareness of what it means to be a Kebbian. After all, we are all in this together.
“Together, we can ensure a better life
for future generations of Kebbians. Equally, you can inform your
computer-literate friends and associates to check the website regularly
and email us their names and phone numbers, as we embark on a project to
compile names, phone numbers and emails addresses of all our indigenes,
who are passionately and actively working for Kebbi State’s
development,” says the site.
Like Kebbi, the Jigawa State Government is also making what could be described as a tall social media promise on its jigawa.state.gov.ng. Quoting telephone lines on the page, the site says the government is relating with citizens of the state through WhatsApp, 2go as well as Facebook.
It also welcomes suggestions on the
affairs of the state and its leadership. Such suggestions, it says,
could be channelled through its social media platforms and emails.
Posting through kano.gov.ng, Kano
State Government is ahead of its counterparts in the region. Apart from
the fact that it updates its site regularly, it has a functional social
media platform where governance information is equally accessed.
On Facebook, the state government is followed by 3,900 users. But more importantly, both website and Facebook relates well in terms of plugins and posting.
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