“It is with sincere gratitude to Almighty Allah (SWT) that I present to the Honourable House the 2023 budget proposal of One Hundred and Seventy-Three Billion, Six Hundred and Ninety Seven Million, Two Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand Naira (N173,697,242,000.00) tagged, “Budget of Further Consolidation”. This is in line with our desire to continue offering our service to the people of Gombe beyond 2023”. These were the words of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya while laying the 2023 budget estimates before the Gombe State House of Assembly on Thursday, November 3, 2023 for constitutional deliberation and passage into law.
The appropriation bill, tagged ‘Budget of further Consolidation’, was, as usual, presented early enough for the expected implementation from early next year.
Before the presentation to the legislature, a town hall meeting on budget preparation had been held with traditional rulers, community leaders, trade unions and non- governmental organisations to harness their inputs in order to ensure an all-inclusive budgeting process. Also, the draft bill was subjected to further scrutiny by members of the state executive council. These go to show that the Gombe 2023 budget is indeed the people’s budget that targets the consolidation of the gains of the previous ones.
The proposed size of the Gombe 2023 budget is N173billion as against the current budget of N154.9billion, technically designed in line with some basic prevailing economic realities.
The 173.7billion is made up of N71,856,492,000.00 for recurrent expenditure representing 41.4%, and NGN101,840,750,000.00 only for capital expenditure, representing 58.6% of the total budgeted sum.
In the Budget, a gargantuan N5,939,700,000 has been allocated to the education sector and a further N5,427,000,000.00 is also earmarked for the Higher Education subsector, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education including Gombe State University, College of Education, Billiri, State Polytechnic Bajoga; College of Education and Legal Studies,Nafada, College of Nursing and Midwifery as well as the College of Health Technology, Kaltungo.
Much of the funds allocated will be utilised for ongoing projects and programs of the state government including the provision of quality universal education for the children and youths, improvement in teacher quality, strengthening quality assurance, increased investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), improving funding mechanism for facilities and infrastructural development, promoting girl-child education and the BESDA program that has mopped up over 400, 000 out of school children from the streets and into the classrooms.
Also the government has provided counterpart funds to enable Gombe state access the UBEC grants that has been utilised for the massive construction and renovation of primary and secondary schools classrooms across the state, implementation of the compulsory free Universal Basic Education Policy, improving teachers’ welfare, the establishment of a state of the art Teacher Resource Centre at Kwami for training and retraining of teachers to meet globally accepted teaching standards.
Also, arrangements have been concluded for the take-off of the University of Science and Technology, Kumo under a PPP arrangement with the Lincoln University, Malaysia.
Turning to the pivotal health sector, the sum of N6,961,500,000.00 has been allocated so as to sustain the state government’s programs to improve the availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of health care services.
Recall that the Governor Inuwa Yahaya administration has provided at least one functional primary health care centre in each of the 114 wards of the state and is constructing a new General Hospital in Kumo and College of Nursing and Midwifery. Also Health Care Institutions like the Gombe Specialist Hospital (newly accredited as an internship training Centre for Doctors and other healthcare specialists), the College of Nursing and Midwifery and the College of Health Technology, the Bajoga and Kaltungo General Hospitals have been thoroughly renovated, upgraded and expanded to meet the increasing need for improved health care as well as providing the enabling environment for medical and health care course students to pursue their studies.
The Contributory Health Care Scheme and the Hospital Management Board were established to reduce out of pocket expenditure for health care services as well as providing risk protection for the people.
The administration of Governor Inuwa Yahaya has continued to prioritize the agricultural sector in the provision of much needed funds, facilities, equipment and farm inputs that have helped in increasing production in leaps and bounds. For 2023 fiscal year, Governor Inuwa Yahaya has allocated a whopping N3, 015,000,000.00 for the sub sector in order to enhance agricultural activities while modernizing the techniques, equipment and facilities for improved production.
At the moment, the Inuwa Yahaya administration has distributed thousands of metric tons of fertilizer across all 114 wards in the state at subsidized rates as well as provided bags of seedlings to dry season farmers. The state government has further boosted the agric sector by leasing farm equipment like tractors, harvesters, planters to farmers.
It established Agricultural Research Centres in two Local Government Areas and Farm Demonstration and Technology Adoption plots for the training of farmers in modern farming techniques in addition to the allocation of 23, 000 hectares of land for irrigation farming at Dadin Kowa.
The state government has also revitalized the vital livestock subsector through the vaccination of millions of livestock to improve their overall yield while keying into the Natural Livestock Transformation Program (NLTP) with the allocation of Wawa Zange Grazing Reserve for the administration of the Program, the setting up of a trailblazing Agriculture Investment Park and the establishment of an Export Processing Zone in the state to ensure the timely exportation of farm produce including food and cash crops outside the state borders. The Gombe state government has also utilized the Dadin-kowa, Balanga and Cham hydro-electric dams in promoting large scale irrigation farming.
Governor Inuwa has also embarked on a massive road construction programme, tagged the Network Eleven Hundred that involves the construction of at least a 100km of roads in each of the eleven local governments of the state in order to open up the rural areas, enable easier access for the evacuation of agricultural produce, the seamless movement of persons, goods and services and increased economic activity. Also Gombe State is participating in the World Bank Assisted Rural Access and Mobility Project and the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project all aimed at linking up the rural communities and opening up economic opportunities throughout the state and to this end has allocated N3,540,600,000.00 for Rural Development in the 2023 Budget.
It is worth noting that issues like environmental sanitation, waste management, environmental pollution, flooding, soil erosion, desertification, climate change and environmental management have been tackled head on by the Inuwa Yahaya’s green focused government beginning with the landmark Gombe Goes Green (3G) programme which targets the planting of 4 million trees in four years to tackle deforestation.
Already, over 3 million trees have been planted; and the implementation of the World Bank assisted Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project which the government had earlier paid 500 million naira as counterpart fund to partake in the disbursement of the project funds. Also a 7.5 km monstous gully erosion traversing Mallam Inna area has been rehabilitated, establishment of assorted nurseries in 5 local governments coupled with the establishment of 100 hectares of wood lot plantations in 5 desert prone LGAs.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya has also mandated the preparation of an all-encompassing Environmental Protection Master Plan implementing the Agro- Climate Resilience in Semi – Arif Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project and the enshrining of relevant Environmental Sanitation Laws to guide those policies, strengthening the activities of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Environmental Protection Agency to tackle the inherent obstacles and the devotion of a pillar of the Ten year Development Plan (2020-2030) to address those environmental challenges. To this end the sum of N3,984,000,000.00 has been allocated for investment in the Environmental and Forestry subsector.
Gombe State has an enviable reputation as the economic and industrial hub of the entire Northeast region and this qualities were showcased in the recently concluded Gombe Investment Summit (GO-INVEST 2022) which was well attended by the creme de la creme of the global corporate,financial, Industrial and manufacturing elite. Also Gombe State has been rated as No 1 in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking in the entire federation.
With a view to leapfrogging Gombe state into the league of high performing industrial entities, Governor Inuwa Yahaya established the 1000 hectares Gombe Industrial Park in Dadin Kowa ( which is expected to create over 100,000 jobs) close to the Dadinkowa Hydro Electric Power Station that will deliver over 40mw of electricity to power the industrial park and other parts of the state.
The government is presently partnering with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to develop an industrial policy for Gombe state and in refocusing the Balanga Dam to a mini-hydro power generating facility in order to facilitate an agro-processing value chain. Thus Governor Inuwa Yahaya has allocated N10,390,000,000.00 to the Trade, Industry and Tourism Sector.
Tourism has long been one of the vibrant sectors of Gombe economy and this administration is re-invigorating the subsector to attract a record number of tourists to the state by embarking on the renovation of the long neglected Gombe state Hotels while the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism and the Gombe State Enterprises Development Agency were directed to take cogent steps to ensure the fulfillment of the social objectives for the tourism industry including strategies for facilitating public –private sector partnership with the Gombe state Ten Year Development Plan (2020-2030) .
The 2023 Budget allocated N2,255,000,000.00 for the youth and sports development subsector in order to fund the numerous skills acquisition and vocational training programs initiated by the state government to train tens of thousands of youths, women, artisans, the indigent and physically challenged persons have been carried out.
Also, the Gombe Security, Traffic and Environmental Corps (GOSTEC), the At-Risk Children Project (ARC-P), the 1000 KeKe Riders Scheme, the Joint Skills Development Initiatives with the ITF have employed and empowered tens of thousands of youths.
The primacy of Science,Technology and lnnovation to the rapid development of the state cannot be overemphasized which informs the objectives of the Governor Inuwa Yahaya administration to increase ICT infrastructure capability in order to develop new skills, accelerate employment of people as well as enhancing service delivery in business and government activities.
Thus the government has supported ICT based certification in order to build capacity across the state, subsidise the establishment of ICT based skills acquisition centres, promote the development of ICT small and medium enterprises for wealth creation and employment generation and facilitate the provision of broad band infrastructure across the state.
The administration has also organized Science, Technology, lnnovation, Agriculture and Minerals Expo, training of entrepreneurs,revitalizing the Gombe Technology lncubation Centres and the participation of Gombe State in National and International Science, Technology and Innovation Competitions and Expos in which the state participants performed remarkably.
And the Science, Technology and ICT Sector is vital as Gombe State continues to attract foreign and local investors at an accelerated pace thus N360,600,000.00 has been allocated to this crucial subsector in the 2023 fiscal year.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya has prioritised women empowerment by raising the level of women participation in all facets of socio-economic activities, the provision of free skills acquisition opportunities for women, establishment of special intervention fund for women in business, facilitating the formation of women co-operative societies for easy access to finance, liaising with traditional, community and religious leaders to increase awareness of the benefits of girl child education, improvements in women participation in governance and holistic implementation of the Social Protection Policy for women as well as the pivotal Child Rights Act. The Governor has allocated N1,922,500,000.00 to the Women Affairs and Social Development subsector in the 2023 budget.
The incumbent administration has continued to recognize and partner with traditional institutions, religious bodies, NGOS and other stakeholders towards promoting positive social values and norms. The state government has strengthened the functions of the state’s Council of Emirs & Chiefs, enhanced the role of traditional rulers in maintenance of law and order, building of social cohesion, enhancement of peace and stability and the preservation of culture, festivals,monuments and artefacts in the state and the allocation of N130,000,000.00 for this subsector in the 2023 fiscal year will no doubt ensure that the traditional institutions and local governments continue to play their vital roles in promoting peace, communal unity and social stability.
The relative safety and security of Gombe State compared to other states in the Northeast region is as a result of Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s undertaking to the Gombe people to decisively confront the roots of insecurity in order to ensure law and order, safety and security of lives and properties of all communities across the state through active collaboration with the law enforcement agencies as well as key stakeholders in the security sphere.
Accordingly the law enforcement agencies have been strengthened to deliver on their mandate, revitalize informal intelligence gathering mechanisms, partner with traditional institutions in security management of their domains, increase security presence in flash point communities and re-energise police community relations committees.
The establishment of community policing networks, dedicated security hotlines to report security breaches, recruitment of vigilantes and local hunters to work with organised law enforcement, establishment of Farmers/Herders Peace and Reconciliation Commitees and involvement of traditional,community and religious leaders in the formulation and implementation of security measures as well as conflict resolution processes has gone a long way towards securing Gombe State from insurgent, terrorist and assorted criminal elements plaquing other states in the country. Thus the impressive sum of N555,000,000.000 has been allocated to continue beefing up the internal security and ethical orientation mechanism of the Gombe State.
There is a dire need to ensure the adequate and constant flow of information between the leaders and the governed so that the latter can be kept abreast of the policy initiatives,programsand objectives of the former. Thus the Gombe State government has allocated N842,000,000.00 in the 2023 budget to enhance greater information dissemination, governance communication and citizens engagement through the print, electronic and social media platforms as it is crucial that the Gombe people are carried along in all facets of governance.
In order to address the deficiencies and corrupt malpractices taking place in the public sector, Governor Inuwa Yahaya immediately on assumption of office, introduced the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in order to curtail the multiplicity of MDA bank accounts through which state funds were pilfered at will; initiated the complete digitilisation and automation of all revenue generation processes; centralisation, harmonisation and control of all payment receipts, printing, custody and issuance; discuntinued the use of revenue collection consultants; restructured and repositioned revenue generation agencies with the sacking and deployment of staff members of the state Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General, State Board of Internal Revenue, Ministry of Lands and Survey, and the Urban development Board amongst others. In order to eliminate widespread record and payroll fraud, the present administration introduced the Integrated Payroll And Personnel Information System (IPPIS) which has facilitated convenience in staff remuneration with minimal financial waste and leakage while implementing the Contributory Pension Scheme in order to reduce pension cost, instill discipline and ensure timely payment of pensions to beneficiaries.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya on inception of duty in May 2019, moved to enhance human capacity development in the civil and public service of Gombe State, most notably in the Office of the Head of Service, Secretary to the State Government, Ministries, FRC, Gombe State Agency for Social Services, Sustainable Development Goals office, SUBEB, GOSEPA, CDEC amongst others. Also the purposeful governor moved swiftly to establish a Bureau of Public Service Reforms(BPSR) charged with implementing drastic, far reaching and long lasting reforms in the civil /public service while also embedding an uncompromising regime of mandatory periodic training, seminars, workshops and other skills enhancement programmes for employees across the different cadres in the civil/public service in partnership with the various institutions of higher learning in Gombe state and also the acquisition of state of the art office equipment, gadgets and I.T. technology to improve efficiency, responsiveness and more credible service delivery in the state workforce.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya has mandated the prompt payment of staff salaries,allowances and emoluments while Gombe State’s state’s legion of retirees and pensioners have not been left out as their pensions and gratuities are been paid regularly and without default. To continue raising the bar of excellence and outstanding performance in the Gombe civil and public service, the sum of N6,428,000,000.00 has been earmarked for General Administration in the 2023 fiscal year.
Governor lnuwa Yahaya is a staunch advocate of the rule of law as well as due process, equity and fair play in all positive ramifications. His principled policy of non-interference in the judicial process as well as his firm commitment to the indepedence of the three arms of government and the sacrosanct concept of separation of powers has earned the DanMajen Gombe deserved plaudits from a wide spectrum of civil society, the social affairs and media commentariats as well as blue chip policy think tanks thus the earmarking of the round sum of N2,494,750,000.00 for the Law and Justice subsector is seen as a right step in the right direction.
To be continued…
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