News
Governor Sani Presents N790bn Budget To Kaduna Assembly For 2025
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has presented a budget proposal of N790 billion for the year 2025 to the state House of Assembly for approval, with critical sectors like education, infrastructure, human capital development, security, and agriculture taking the largest allocation.
Presenting the draft budget at the chambers of Kaduna State House of Assembly on Monday, the governor said that his administration adopted a conservative but strategic approach to resource allocation, given the prevailing financial headwinds.
The governor disclosed that the 2025 budget earmarked N553 billion for Capital Expenditure while N237 billion is for Recurrent Expenditure.
According to him, “the capital allocation reflects our 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,’’ the Governor further emphasized.
Governor Sani pointed out that N206.6billion has been allocated to education, representing 26.14% of the 2025 budget proposal.
“This will fund the construction of new schools, the rehabilitation of existing ones, the recruitment and capacity development of teachers, and the provision of learning materials,’’ he added.
The health sector has been allocated N127 billion, which is 16.07% of the budget, Governor Sani said, explaining that the amount will be used “to upgrade our healthcare facilities, procure medical equipment, and expand our mobile healthcare services, ensuring that no community is left behind in access to quality healthcare.’’
The Governor said that N106 billion, which is 13.14% of the 2025 budget, has been earmarked for infrastructure, adding that the administration will ‘’focus on completion of ongoing road construction, rural electrification, water supply and other critical public works across the State.’’
He said that N74 billion or 9. 36% of the budget will be devoted to agriculture, promising that “we will invest in agricultural innovation, providing support for smallholder farmers, promoting agro-processing, and expanding irrigation projects.’’
According to him, N11.2 billion has been allocated for Security to enhance “the capacity of our state security agencies, purchasing equipment, and supporting community policing efforts.’’
Governor Sani also said that Social Welfare has been allocated N9.8 billion or 1.24% of next year’s budget, 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, to be conducted by the newly created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.’’
He said that the 2025 draft Budget represents a bold commitment to the future of Kaduna State.
The Governor said that “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 explained that ‘’the budget process has been consultative, and we have engaged widely with the people of Kaduna State to ensure that the budget reflects their aspirations, addresses their concerns, and lays a solid foundation for long-term development.
He thanked the legislators and all stakeholders for their contributions and support, adding that ‘’the feedback from the Town Hall meetings, engagements with civil society groups, and inputs from various sectors have been invaluable in shaping the framework of the 2025 draft budget.’’
While urging the House of Assembly to give the budget the necessary support it deserves, he promised that they will ‘’ work together to turn these plans into 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,’’ he added.
Governor Sani also highlighted his administration’s achievements in 2024 in the areas of safety and security, upgrade of infrastructure, housing development, trade and investment, agriculture, Human Capital Development, Health and Social Welfare.
On Safety and Security, he said that government has 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 Center,’’ he added.
The Governor said that his administration has “recorded major milestones in the conflict – impacted Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Giwa, Igabi, Kachia, Kajuru and Kagarko LGAs.”
“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 Birnin Gwari.
“I was in Birnin Gwari on Thursday, 28th November 2028 to reopen the famous and strategic Kara Livestock Market, thus signaling the commencement of commercial activities. The long abandoned Birnin Gwari Road is now back to life,’’ he added.
He said Kaduna State is partnering with local and international investors to frontally address our housing deficit, adding that ‘’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% completed. This project is a partnership between Qatar Charity and the Kaduna State Government,’’ he said.
Governor Uba Sani disclosed that his government has attracted over $503 million worth of actualized investments to the State. Amongst them are 4 Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), namely: Sunagrow International Oil Ltd for the construction of $50 Million Soya Bean Oil Refining Plant, StarAgric West Africa Ltd for the establishment of the Kaduna Agri-Market System Initiative, Qatar Sanabil Kaduna Economic City Project, and Ming Xing Lithium Processing Plant. ‘’
“We are finalizing arrangements for the commencement of the Special Agricultural Processing Zone (SAPZ), a partnership between the Kaduna State Government and the African development Bank (AfDB),’’ he added.
The Kaduna State Government, through the Kaduna State Enterprise Development Agency (KADEDA), has supported 8,649 nano and micro businesses with grants to expand their business operations, he disclosed.
The governor said that ‘’the support ranged from N300,000, N200,000, N150,000, N100,000, to N50,000. The A Kori Talauchi program, led by the Kaduna State Government, empowered 4,912 underserved women across the state.’’
A lion killed a 14-year-old girl outside Kenya’s capital Nairobi while an elephant killed a 54-year-old man in the central part of the country, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said this weekend.
The attack on the girl occurred on Saturday in a ranch to the south of Nairobi National Park.
The attack was witnessed by another teenager, who raised the alarm, the KWS said in a statement.
“KWS rangers and response teams were swiftly mobilized and traced bloodstains leading to the Mbagathi River, where the girl’s body was recovered with injuries on the lower back,” the conservation agency said in a statement.
“The lion was not sighted at the scene,” it added.
It said a trap had been set for the lion and teams deployed to comb the area, along with additional safety measures.
The KWS said a 54-year-old man had also been killed by an elephant in Kenya’s Nyeri County on Friday. The agency gave no further details about that incident.
“KWS conveys its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and continues to work closely with local law enforcement and communities to enhance the safety of people living near protected wildlife areas,” it said in the statement.
It called for more investment in “human-wildlife conflict mitigation”, including early warning systems and greater collaboration with affected communities.
In a statement to the BBC Paula Kahumbu, head of the WildlifeDirect conservation group, urged Kenya Wildlife Service to improve “risk assessments and ensure accurate, real-time communication of wildlife movement and behavior, especially in known high-risk areas such as Savannah Ranch,” where the girl was killed.
Last year, police in Kenya recovered the body of a man believed to have been attacked by a lion while he was riding a motorcycle near a national reserve in the south of the country.
The lion population was declining in Kenya just over a decade ago, primarily due to human-wildlife conflict. The government listed lions as endangered, with an estimated population of 2,000 in 2010. A more recent survey put the number at 2,489.
In 2023, 11 lions were speared to death in just one week — including one of Kenya’s oldest wild lions — by herders after the big cats killed their livestock.
Last year, the BBC reported CCTV footage captured the moment a lion snatched a Rottweiler dog from another home near Nairobi National Park
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Nigerian singer Speed Darlington is calling for a rematch against Portable after losing to him in a celebrity boxing match.
Speed Darlington was knocked out in the second round, and he’s unhappy about the outcome.
In a video, he claimed Portable didn’t deserve the win and the prize money, saying he had plans to use the money to build a swimming pool for his community in Imo State.
Portable, I want a rematch. E dey pain me say you dey carry all that money dey go. E dey break my heart.
” I want a rematch. It’s so unfair. You have up to two experience before me and you fight. I never enter ring before. I did not come from poverty,” he said.
“You don’t deserve that money. E dey pain me. I want to build swimming pool for my villagers. I need a rematch, Portable”, he said.
According to Speed Darlington, Portable had an unfair advantage due to his experience, accusing him of using supernatural means to win the fight.
He also claimed he suffered a shoulder injury during the match despite not feeling tired.
Speed Darlington, who wants a rematch, said he needs 30 days to prepare better
At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the bulky bulldozer turning up soil at a testing site in central Israel, but as it pulled closer it became clear: the driver’s cabin is eerily empty.
This is the Robdozer, a fortified engineering vehicle manned remotely, and in this case operated from a military expo halfway across the globe in Alabama.
Army engineers and military experts say that the Robdozer — the robotic version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozer — is the future of automated combat.
The Israeli military has used D9 for years to carry out frontline tasks like trowelling roads for advancing troops, removing rubble and flattening terrain.
But since war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 and later in Lebanon, the Israeli military has increasingly deployed this robotic version in a bid to enhance its field operations and reduce the risks to its troops.
“The idea is to eliminate the person from the cockpit of the dozer,” said Rani, whose team at the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Robdozer.
An unmanned D9 bulldozer digs up a field during a demonstration to the press at the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) quarters near Tel Aviv on March 26, 2025. Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
During the Gaza war, the military has increasingly opted for the unmanned version, which can carry out a full range of tasks “even better than a human”, said Rani, using his first name only for security reasons.
While such vehicles and other systems are currently operated by humans, future versions could be autonomous, raising ethical and legal concerns over the unchartered future of warfare being shaped by the Israeli military in the Gaza war.
‘Changing the paradigm’
Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law.
Analysts say the growing Israeli deployment of the Robdozer reflects broader global trends towards automation in heavy combat vehicles, like remote-controlled personnel carriers that operate much like drones.
An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that the army has been using “robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare”.
-
News23 hours agoBLACK EASTER: Over 150 massacred in Plateau, Benue
-
News19 hours agoDouble tragedy: Father, three children, maid killed in Osun road crash
-
News19 hours agoSAD! SEC DG says “we can’t recover N1.3trn Nigerians lost to CBEX ponzi scheme”
-
News17 hours agoNDLEA nabs bandits supplier with drugs concealed in private part(Photos)
-
Metro23 hours agoShock as 2 naked lovers found dead in Kogi
-
News23 hours agoIMF expresses concern over high poverty rate, food insecurity in Nigeria
-
Economy23 hours agoVolvo announces termination of 800 U.S. workers, cites tariff, market decline
-
Sports12 hours agoBREAKING! Arsenal hammer relegation Bound Ipswich 4-0