El-Rufai Vows To Finish Ongoing Projects Before Leaving Office

Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has promised to complete all the ongoing projects in the state before he leaves office in May, 2023.

He stated this at the weekend while speaking at the 2023 draft budget town hall meeting with citizens accountability platforms in the principle of Open Government Partnership (OGP) organised by the Kaduna State government, with support of Partnership for Advocacy in Child And Family Health At Scale (PACFaH@Scale).

He said, “As this administration approaches its twilight, I wish to reiterate our resolve to ensure the finishing of all ongoing projects before the transition in May 2023”.

Represented by commissioner for public works, Thomas Gyang, the governor said,  “It is my firm belief and hope that these and other reforms that we have institutionalized will continue to guide the delivery of quality public services to the good  people of Kaduna State.

“In June 2019, shortly after we commenced our second term, we launched the Urban Renewal Programme to modernize our three major cities. This is an unprecedented investment in urban infrastructure that is changing Kaduna, Kafanchan, and Zaria. We have built, upgraded, and expanded infrastructure in these cities as part of a coordinated effort to improve the economic competitiveness of our state and increase its appeal as a place to live, work, transact businesses, and rest.

“We have also maintained an average of 60-40 percent capital-recurrent expenditure in all fiscal years of our administration and have successfully cut down the cost of government.”

Breaking down the 2023 estimated budget for the state tagged, “Budget of Continuous Growth and Development”, the Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission, Hajia Umma Yusuf Aboki, said  that the estimated budget is N291,932,185,576.34, comprising of recurrent estimates of ₦126,833,534,781.40 and capital estimates in the sum of ₦165,098,650,794.94.

According to her, in 2023 budget, education and health would gulp about 40 per cent of the total sum, cutting away N65.7 billion representing about 25 per cent and ₦23.4 billion representing about 15 per cent, respectively.

She said that the 2023 to 2025 draft budget was prepared based on macroeconomic assumptions which include crude oil price at $70 per barrel, production benchmark at 1.69 million barrels per day, and exchange rate at ₦435.17/$1.