The 23 Local Government council chairpersons in Kaduna State have begun presenting their 2025 proposed budgets to the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
The budget defence exercise, which started on 21 February ended on Sunday with the Committees on Appropriations and Implementation, Local Governments and Rural Communities presiding over the exercise.
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The Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and Implementation, Yunusa Shehu, who spoke to journalists shortly after the presentation, stated that observations and recommendations were made for each LGA.
“We drew their attention to the 60-40 ratio for capital and recurrent allocations, respectively.
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“We asked them to put it in writing so that our committee will go back and sit down to harmonise and see where the challenges lie.
“If it is from the budget, we make sure we make the adjustment so that they would be able to implement the budget 100 per cent,” he said.
Mr Shehu added that the next step was to harmonise the budgets, after which the committee would present the report to the house for subsequent adoption and passage into law.
He explained that the committee would monitor and evaluate the budgets after approval to ensure the council chairpersons were implementing the approved budgets.
Meanwhile, some of the chairpersons who presented their proposed budgets said the exercise was smooth, expressing hope for the approval of their budgets.
The Chairman of Kagarko LGA, Muhiddeen Abdullahi, who proposed a N4.7 billion budget, stated that it was all about rural transformation, complementing the state government’s budget.
Similarly, the Chairman of Lere LGA, Jaafaru Ahmed, who presented a budget of over N5 billion stated that it would prioritise empowerment and social development while also boosting agriculture in the area.
As some chairpersons expressed optimism over the approval and implementation of the budgets, others highlighted their challenges.
The Chairman of Kudan LGA, Dauda Iliya, who proposed a N3.7 billion budget, explained that he inherited a loan from the past administration, which he has been paying since his assumption into office.
He commended Governor Uba Sani for intervening and promised to liquidate the loan at the end of February.
Mr Iliya explained that the budget prioritised infrastructural development such as road construction, renovation of primary schools, health centres as well promoting irrigation farming and other agricultural projects.
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On his part, the Chairman of Sanga LGA, Usman Anto, who presented over N4 billion budget said the budget would be used to fish out ghost workers.
He explained that adequate appropriations and budgetary provisions were made for agriculture, education, health and security in order to improve the lives of the people.
“We have started screening school teachers to make sure that we are paying those that are working.
“We are taking measures to ensure that we don’t pay those that are not working or ghost workers
“That explains why there was a sharp drop in the total budgetary allocation for staff welfare, primarily the teachers as against what was there before,” he said.
(NAN)
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