Debt Servicing Gulps N20.4bn in 2025 Katsina Budget, Says Commissioner

Francis Sardauna in Katsina 

The Katsina State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Bello Kagara, has revealed that the state government will use the sum of N20.4 billion for debt servicing in the 2025 proposed budget. 

Kagara, who disclosed this Tuesday during the 2025 budget breakdown, said the N20.4 billion would be taken from the state’s proposed N682 billion budget to service the debts.

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda had, on Monday, presented a budget estimate of N682,244,449,513.87 before members of the state House of Assembly for the 2025 fiscal year.

But Kagara, at the media interface, explained that N20,426,679,083.64 has been earmarked in the 2025 budget proposal for debt servicing, while over N70.4 billion would be used for other recurrent expenditure. 

He added that the sum of N15.419 billion was proposed in the 2025 appropriation bill for the payment of pension and gratuity, while personnel cost and salaries would gulp N51.689 billion.

“The proposed 2025 budget comprises recurrent expenditure of N157,969,755,024.36 broken down as follows: personnel cost and salaries, N51,689,612,024.90 and pension and gratuity, N15,419,689,173.30.

“Other recurrent expenditure is N70,433,774,742.47 and debt servicing is N20,426,679,083.64, totalling N157,969,755,024.36,” the commissioner said. 

He, however, said the media briefing on the breakdown of the state’s 2025 budget proposal was in accordance with the Governor Radda-led government’s accountability and openness policies.