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Kaduna’s Budget of Rural Transformation, Inclusive Development
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Kaduna state governor, Senator Uba Sani, recently signed the state’s 2025 appropriation bill into law. John Shiklam highlights key areas of the budget
The 2025 budget of Kaduna state, titled “Sustaining Rural Transformation and Inclusive Development,” was recently signed into law by Governor Uba Sani after it was passed by the state House of Assembly.
The budget seeks to address the complexity of the rapidly changing global landscape while addressing domestic challenges.
The government plans to spend ₦790 billion with N553 billion earmarked for capital expenditure while N237 billion is for recurrent expenses.
The government hopes to raise the N790 billion from the monthly federal allocation, internally generated revenue, aids and grants, capital development funds and other sources.
The budget process was consultative as the state governor, Senator Uba Sani consulted widely with the people of the state to ensure that their aspirations are reflected and their concerns are addressed to ensure a solid foundation for long-term development.
Speaking during the presentation of the budget proposal to the state House of Assembly, the governor said inputs and feedback were received during engagements with stakeholders and civil society groups at town hall meetings which helped in shaping the framework of the budget.
The budget prioritises critical sectors such as education, health, infrastructural development, agriculture, social welfare and human capital development.
Sani said: “Given the current economic headwinds, it is imperative that we adopt a conservative but strategic approach to resource allocation.”
According to him, the capital allocation reflects his administration’s continued focus on infrastructure, with particular emphasis on rural roads, healthcare facilities, education infrastructure, and housing projects.
“We have deliberately focused on projects that will have a lasting impact on the economic wellbeing of our citizens”, he said during the presentation of the budget proposal to the state legislature.
The education sector is allocated the “lion share” of the budget with N206.6 billion representing 26.14 per cent of the budget while the health sector is allocated N127 billion representing 16.07 per cent.
He explained that the huge allocation to the education sector would be spent on the construction of new schools, rehabilitation of existing ones, recruitment and capacity development of teachers, and the provision of learning materials.
Sani said his administration will continue to upgrade healthcare facilities, procure medical equipment, and expand mobile healthcare services and ensure that no community is left behind in access to quality healthcare.
Similarly, N106 billion (representing 13.41 per cent) is earmarked for infrastructural development, especially the completion of ongoing road construction, rural electrification, water supply and other critical public works across the state.
The agricultural sector received N74 billion which, according to Sani, will be invested in agricultural innovation, providing support for smallholder farmers, promoting agro-processing, and expanding irrigation projects.
Another important sector is security. Kaduna is among the states within the Northwest zone that have been devastated from insecurity occasioned by killings, raiding of communities and kidnapping for ransom by bandits, especially under the administration of ex-governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The security situation under Sani seems to have improved greatly, hence the allocation of N11.2 billion in the budget.
The governor pointed out that the allocation will enhance the capacity of state security agencies, purchasing equipment, and supporting community policing efforts.
The social sector got N9.8 billion to cover the expansion of social safety nets, including support for the elderly, women and children under the Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, as well as other social interventions programmes targeted at the poor and vulnerable.
Sani emphasised that the budget represents a bold commitment to the future of Kaduna state.
“It is a reflection of our determination to drive inclusive development, create jobs, improve infrastructure, and invest in the people of Kaduna state. We remain steadfast in our resolve to build a state that is safe, prosperous, and equitable for all”, the governor said.
He called for the support of the lawmakers to ensure that the plans are turned to reality.
“The 2025 fiscal year will be a year of transformation, and with your cooperation, we shall continue to make Kaduna State a place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive”, the governor said.
He commended the state assembly for the speedy passage of the budget within 10 days of presenting the proposed appropriation bill.
Sani said before the passage of the Appropriation bill, the legislature invited all ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) to defend their budget proposals, noting that the sessions were robust.
‘’Here in Kaduna state, I can say without fear of contradiction that we have the best House of Assembly in the country. If you look at the members, there are APC and PDP legislators but they have relegated politics and are only focusing on governance. For me, this is highly commendable
‘’About ten days ago, I was at the House of Assembly chambers where I presented our 2025 budget proposal. All the MDAs were invited and they defended their budgets. I was following the debate and I can say it was one of the most thorough budget defence in the history of Kaduna state.
‘’The legislators passed the appropriation bill within ten days. This is something that I will continue to be proud of. Apart from the budget, the number of motions, and bills they have sponsored, I can say that this is the best state assembly.
‘’As a former Senator who has the highest number of bills during the last senate, I sponsored more that 32 bills, so there is nobody that can give our lawmakers that credit better than me”.
Reviewing the performance of the budget in the 2024 fiscal year, the governor said a lot was achieved in the areas of security, infrastructural upgrade, health, housing, human capital development and social welfare, among others.
“In the area of Safety and Security, we have recruited and trained 7,000 Personnel of the Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS) to enhance security across the State.
“We distributed 150 Hillux Security Vehicles and 500 Patrol Motorcycles to all security operatives in the State. We constructed the maiden Kaduna State Forensic Laboratory and Training Centre”, the governor said.
He noted that major milestones had been recorded in the conflict-impacted on BirninGwari, Chikun, Giwa, Igabi, Kachia, Kajuru and Kagarko Local Government Areas of the state.
“Normalcy has returned to these LGAs through the efforts of the Kaduna state government, federal security forces and key stakeholders. The case of BirninGwari is quite striking. Through the efforts of the Peace Dialogue Group established by the Kaduna state government in collaboration with federal agencies and security services, peace has returned to BirninGwari.
“I was in BirninGwari on Thursday, November 28, 2024 to reopen the famous and strategic Kara Livestock Market, thus signaling the commencement of commercial activities. The long abandoned BirninGwari Road is now back to life”, the governor said.
He expressed optimism that that the Kaduna Peace Model which is anchored on the non – kinetic approach will be replicated in other troubled Northern states, emphasizing that “It is the pathway to sustainable peace.”
The governor said his administration also embarked on massive infrastructure development in all LGAs aimed at supporting rural communities to achieve rapid economic growth and development.
“We are also upgrading urban road infrastructure. We have undertaken 68 road projects, covering a total of approximately 700 kilometres”, he said.
According to him, some of the roads have been completed, while others are nearing completion, stressing that over 70 percent of the completed and ongoing road projects are in the rural areas.
In the area of housing, the governor said his administration is partnering with local and international investors to frontally address housing deficit in the state.
“We have successfully reduced housing deficit in the state through the development of 300 housing units at Millennium City, Kaduna. The first phase of the construction of mass housing for the less privileged at Kaduna Economic City is about 95 per cent completion. This project is a partnership between Qatar Charity and the Kaduna State Government”, Sani said.
He said agriculture is at the centre of the state’s development agenda, noting that his administration has invested heavily in both mechanization and micro-mechanization of the agricultural sector.
“We are also revolutionizing Irrigation and All-Year-Round Farming. We distributed free fertilizer to farmers for the 2024 farming season. We also distributed farm inputs to thousands of beneficiaries under the Tallafin Noma (A Koma Noma) Scheme”.
In the area of human capital development, the governor said the education sector is being revitalized.
According to him, a total of 62 new secondary schools, comprising 39 Junior and 23 Senior Secondary Schools, had been constructed across the three senatorial zones to cater for the growing educational needs of the state.
“We are building three Vocational and Technological Skills Acquisition Cities to equip our youths with the requisite skills to enable them take up jobs in industries and other businesses our administration has attracted to Kaduna State. The Skills Cities will graduate at least 12,000 youths annually. We are also remodeling the Panteka Market in Kaduna to become a major centre for skills acquisition, engaging over 38,000 artisans.
“We are carrying out a comprehensive infrastructure upgrade at Panteka Market to make it an international center for skills acquisition and job creation”.
He said further that health sector also received a boost with the upgrading of 290 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs), furnished with state-of-the-art equipment.
“This has led to a modest drop in our maternal and child mortality figures. In 2025, we plan to upgrade and equip 255 PHCs to level-2 status. We are pulling all the stops to complete the ultra-modern Specialist Hospital at Millennium City, Kaduna.
“We have embarked on the remodelling, equipping and upgrading of 13 General Hospitals in the three senatorial zones of the state”.
The budget is expected to have significant economic impact. Analysts are, however, concerned about the reality of the budget projections and their potential impact on the lives of the people and the economy.
They noted that year in year out, beautiful plans to uplift the lives of the people are presented on paper, but implementation has always been a major challenge, which informed why little or in some cases no progress is made in Nigeria.
The analysts pointed out that corruption, revenue shortfall and poor implementation plans, among other factors, have always been an obstacle to budget implementation. They maintained that for a successful budget implementation, governors must muster the political will to tackle these impediments.