Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has allocated a sum of N100m to each of the state’s 255 political wards in the proposed 2026 budget.
Sani said the initiative is the most direct community-focused intervention the state has implemented in decades.
He spoke on Friday during a special town hall meeting in Kaduna, where the government presented the draft budget ahead of its submission to the House of Assembly.
The Sani administration is proposing a N985.9bn spending plan for the 2026 fiscal year.
The amount represents a 24.73 per cent increase from the 2025 budget, with Saturday PUNCH gathering that N80.2bn was set aside for the repayment of local and foreign debts inherited from past administrations.
Commenting on the budget, Sani said the decision to release N100m per ward emerged directly from public complaints and community submissions during last year’s town hall consultations.
He noted that residents across several rural areas highlighted development gaps that had persisted for years.
According to him, it became evident during the 2024 engagements that as many as 12 of the state’s 23 local governments had not benefitted from even one kilometre of new road construction in 12 years under previous administrations.
This, he said, prompted a shift from a centralised, top-down method of budgeting to a ward-by-ward development model.
“Decisions on how each ward’s N100m will be spent will no longer be taken by people on the high table. The money belongs to the communities and will be directed strictly by their priorities through structured citizen engagement,” he said.
The governor added that each ward would now identify, rank, and execute its most pressing projects—whether feeder roads, health facilities, water schemes, farm-to-market access, security infrastructure, or community economic initiatives.
Sani said the principle behind the allocation was rooted in fairness and inclusion.
He said, “Development must reach every ward irrespective of who they voted for, where they come from, or what religion they practice.
“Kaduna must work for everyone. The 2026 budget is your budget, and the N100m is for you to decide, not for government to dictate.”
Presenting the budget details, the Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Mukhtar Monrovia, said the government prioritised fiscal discipline and avoided new borrowings since assuming office.
According to him, rising obligations from previously contracted loans place pressure on the state’s finances, making timely repayment unavoidable.
“The major problem has been the issue of debt. It is only fair to announce clearly that yes, these debts were inherited. If we fail to service them as scheduled, the penalties will be catastrophic,” Monrovia said.
He explained that the proposed expenditure consists of N286.2bn for recurrent obligations and N699.7bn for capital projects.
The budget, he added, will be funded through an opening balance of N150bn, projected recurrent revenue of N584.3bn, and N251.6bn in expected receipts.
Stakeholders at the town hall meeting, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth groups, and civil society organisations, commended the governor for what they described as an unprecedented commitment to citizen-led budgeting and transparency.
They praised the administration’s efforts in improving security and ensuring that community voices directly shape budget priorities.
