The Kaduna State House of Assembly, on Friday, passed a bill appropriating N152.4 billion for the 23 local government councils for the 2026 fiscal year.

Presided by the Speaker, Dahiru Liman, the house passed the bill after it adopted the report of the joint committee on appropriation and implementation and local government.

Earlier, Ali Kalat representing Jema’a Constituency, moved for the adoption of the committee’s report on the proposed local government appropriation while Henry Marrah, representing Jaba constituency seconded the motion.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the plenary, the chairman, House committee on appropriation and implementation, Shehu Yunusa-Pambeguwa, explained that the proposal was earlier submitted by the governor. 

He added that it was subsequently referred to the committee for scrutiny, after which the 23 councils appeared before lawmakers to defend their 2025 budget performance and present their 2026 estimates.

According to him, the committee harmonised the submissions after the defence exercise and arrived at the N152.4 billion, which he described as reasonable for the councils’ operations.

Mr Yunusa-Pambeguwa said the budget comprised recurrent expenditure for day-to-day government activities and capital expenditure aimed at projects that would directly impact residents.

He urged the council chairmen across Kaduna State to commence implementation promptly, especially capital projects, to ensure visible development within the fiscal year.

The lawmaker said that only internal adjustments were made during the review, with no change to the overall budget size, adding that a supplementary budget could be considered later if necessary.

He assured the residents that the committee would intensify oversight by conducting periodic reviews and field visits to ensure effective implementation and accountability.

The budget consisted of N91.4 billion recurrent provision and N61.04 billion capital provision.

(NAN)