The  23 council chairmen in Kaduna have begun presenting their 2025 proposed budgets to the Kaduna House of Assembly.

The budget defence exercise, which started on February 21, ended on Sunday with the Committees on Appropriations and Implementation, Local Governments and Rural Communities presiding over the exercise.

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. We asked them to put it in writing so that our committee would 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 parliament for subsequent adoption and passage into the 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.

Some chairmen expressed optimism over approving and implementing the budgets, while others highlighted their challenges.

The chairman of Kudan LGA, Dauda Iliya, who proposed a N3.7 billion budget, explained that he had inherited a loan from the past administration, which he has been paying since his assumption into office.

Mr Iliya explained that the budget prioritised  infrastructural development such as road construction, renovation of primary schools and health centres, and promotion of irrigation farming and other agricultural projects.

On his part, the chairman of Sanga LGA, Usman Anto, who presented a 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 to improve people’s lives.

(NAN)