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2025 Budget: Gombe engage PWD, CSO’s, Traditional Rulers, Faith-based groups for project priorities

Published Nov 17, 2024

By Willies Ugo, Gombe

Gombe State Government has engaged traditional rulers, community leaders, civil society organizations, faith-based groups, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and other stakeholders towards prioritizing areas for the State’s 2025 budget.

The meeting which was organized by the State Ministries Budget & Economic Planning as well as Finance and Economic Development, the interactive session was chaired by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Professor Abubakar Njodi who represented Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.

The interactive engagement has been an annual tradition since Governor Inuwa Yahaya assumed office in 2019, reflecting his long-standing transparency practice of inclusive governance and shaping the budget to ensure it addresses the state’s pressing needs.

According to the Governor, his Government has placed high premium on effective resources management adding that the administration often welcome diverse perspective, innovative ideas and strategic insights when formulating policies and programmes that drive economic growth and development in the state.

He said, “this is a significant step towards ensuring that the needs and aspirations of the people are prioritized in Government spending. The citizens’ nominated projects cover a wide range of areas, including infrastructure development, education, healthcare and agriculture.

“So far, out of 71 nominated citizens’ project/programmes in 2024, 48 were included and have been executed in the 2024 Budget, representing 67.61%”, he pointed out.

Governor Inuwa further listed some of the citizens nominated projects to include ongoing road construction from Tashan Magarya – Emir’s Palace in Kumo town, completed rehabilitation of road linking Nafada town to Potiskum road; expansion of roads in Tumfure among others.

Other citizens nominated projects are the provision of Solar Light at Gadam Town and other locations, ongoing reconstruction of Nafada, Kaltungo LGA Secretariats; ongoing reconstruction and renovation of Royal Palaces across all the LGAs; timely procurement and distribution of fertilizers to State farmers; erosion control projects across affected locations in the State.

Schools and healthcare facilities construction, upgrade, renovation are other citizens projects carried out by the Government.

He assured the citizens that their input during the consultation will not be taken for granted, as the previous ones have guided decisions in the implementation of the previous budgets.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salisu Baba Alkali, stated that the event served as a platform for discussing key strategies, priorities, and goals that would shape the state’s budget for the upcoming
year.

He highlighted the importance of transparent and accountable budgeting processes, Stakeholder engagement, and sustainable economic development which he described as the hallmark of the Inuwa led Government.

Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Muhammad Gambo Magaji, highlighted the futuristic outlook of the state’s finances for the 2025 fiscal year, emphasizing that the current Tax Reform Bills, if passed into law, alongside the pegging of the official exchange rate of the dollar at N1,400, would lead to a 40% reduction in the state’s statutory VAT allocation while the exchange rate differential would decrease to less than N400 if the dollar trades between N1,700 and N1,750 on the parallel market.

Chairman of the Gombe State House of Assembly Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Ali Baba Manu, expressed optimism about the process, stating that the engagement will give lawmakers a deeper understanding of the people’s priorities, which will guide them in scrutinizing and approving the budget to ensure equitable resource allocation across the 11 LGAs of the state.

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