Professional Assessment of Zakat Management Institutions Across Northern Nigerian States: Comparative Performance Review

Formalised Zakat management institutions have been established across multiple northern Nigerian states with the Sharia reimplementation programme, yet the comparative performance of these institutions in collection, disbursement, accountability, and poverty impact has not been professionally assessed across state lines. This study conducts a comparative professional performance review of Zakat management institutions in Kano, Zamfara, Niger, Kebbi, and Kaduna States. A comparative professional assessment methodology is applied, analysing annual reports, collection statistics, and disbursement records from Zakat institutions in the five states alongside structured interviews with twenty-five Zakat institution officials and forty beneficiary recipients. Performance dimensions evaluated include per capita Zakat collection rates, disbursement efficiency, beneficiary targeting accuracy, accountability mechanisms, and governance compliance with AAOIFI Zakat governance standards. Available professional Zakat administration literature from northern Nigeria identifies wide performance disparities across state institutions, with Kano and Zamfara performing significantly better in per capita collection than other states. The classical Fiqh standards for Zakat distribution to the eight eligible categories (Asnaf al-Thamaniya) and the AAOIFI Governance Standards for Zakat Institutions provide the evaluation framework. Findings are expected to reveal governance quality differences explaining performance disparities. Recommendations address a national Zakat management performance standard, inter-state cooperation agreements for Zakat coordination, digital collection platforms, and mandatory independent Zakat institution audits. Keywords: Zakat management, performance assessment, northern Nigeria, comparative review, institutional governance.