Education takes high share as Uba Sani proposes N790bn 2025 budget

Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has presented a budget proposal of N790 billion for 2025, which prioritises critical sectors like education, infrastructure, human capital development, security, and agriculture.

Presenting the draft budget at the chambers of Kaduna State House of Assembly on Monday, December 2, 2024, Sani said 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.

He said: “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.”

Governor Sani stated 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,” Sani said.

The health sector was allocated N127 billion, which is 16.07% of the budget.

Sani noted that the amount would 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 N106 billion, which is 13.14% of the 2025 budget, has been earmarked for infrastructure, adding that his administration will “focus on completion of ongoing road construction, rural electrification, water supply and other critical public works across the state.”

Uba Sani engages Kaduna stakeholders on 2025 budget

He said 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 further states 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 the 2025 budget represents a bold commitment to the future of Kaduna State, adding: “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.”

He thanked the lawmakers 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, Sani 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,” Sani stated.

The Star