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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.’’
The Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress have dismissed the prospect of any opposition coalition unseating President Bola Tinubu in 2027, describing recent moves by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as futile and politically opportunistic.
Their reactions followed the high-profile visit by Atiku and El-Rufai—accompanied by former governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa), and Achike Udenwa (Imo)—to former President Muhammadu Buhari at his Kaduna residence last week.
Although Atiku maintained the visit was merely a post-Sallah courtesy call, political observers and members of the ruling party believe it was part of broader opposition coalition talks aimed at weakening Tinubu’s political base.
“There is a plan for the major political parties to come together and form a strong opposition. But it is not part of our visit,” Atiku told reporters.
In recent weeks, concerns have risen within the APC over speculated coalition efforts and the potential exit of the Congress for Progressive Change bloc from the party, following defections to the Social Democratic Party.
But the APC’s National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, waved off the speculations in a phone interview with The PUNCH, questioning the credibility of the so-called CPC defection narrative.
“It is not true. Which CPC bloc did you people say is leaving? Was El-Rufai or Atiku a CPC member? Is our Vice National Chairman (North-West), Garba Datti Mohammed, and even former Governor Al-Makura not in the CPC? Have you heard any of them saying he is leaving?” Bashiru queried. “I don’t know why the media keeps giving these sorts of people unnecessary attention.”
Also reacting, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, criticised the coalition talks, dismissing them as a desperate power grab by political misfits with no shared ideology.
“This coalition is an association to grab power,” Bwala said. “That’s why you will hear Peter Obi say they are only there to grab power. Tomorrow, he will say he is considering joining. As for my senior brother, El-Rufai, I like what he is doing. He is using them to play ping pong.”
Bwala added that internal resistance within the Peoples Democratic Party had already disrupted El-Rufai’s attempts to lure the opposition into the SDP.
“When El-Rufai came, he thought he would move all of them to SDP. But His Excellency (Sule Lamido) screamed, ‘Hold it there!’ He reminded them that it was the PDP that made El-Rufai minister twice and gave him political relevance. Now, he wants to drag them out? We’re not going anywhere,” Bwala recounted.
The Presidency insists that despite the rising political noise, President Tinubu remained focused on governance and would not be distracted by alliances it described as unstable and self-serving.
Credit: PUNCH
An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has dismissed a suit contesting the nomination and installation of the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Alao.
In his ruling on Monday, Justice K.A. Adedokun nullified the case for lack of jurisdiction.
Four members of the Akingbola family who instituted the suit contested the selection, appointment, and approval of Oba Alao as the Olugbon.
Justice Adedokun held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, saying that the claimants had no locus standi to file the suit.
He ruled that the case was defective as it failed to include Surulere Local Government, the authority legally empowered to initiate the selection process and approve the traditional ruler’s appointment.
Oba Alao, whose installation as Olugbon was ratified by the Oyo State government and traditional institutions, is the current vice chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a Chinese, Liu Beixiang, over alleged false information to an officer of the agency.
Liu was arraigned yesterday before Justice Ayokule Faji of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The charge reads: “That you, Liu Beixiang (a.k.a Lao Liu), sometime in December 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did give information, which you knew to be false, to an officer of the Federal Government of Nigeria in the discharge of his duties and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 16 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.”
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the offence when the charge was read to him. In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, Babatunde Sonoiki, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility.
But in his response, the defence counsel, F.A. Dalmeda, informed the court of an application submitted to the EFCC seeking a plea bargain.
“We filed an application for a plea bargain, and we also filed a motion for bail, which the EFCC responded to this morning.
“We need a date for us to report on the plea bargain.
Consequently, Justice Faji adjourned the matter till June 23, 2025, for a report on the plea bargain and remanded the defendant in a correctional centre.
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