By Abdullahi Inuwa
Katsina State Governor, Dr Dikko Umar Radda, has presented a proposed N828.64 billion budget for the 2027 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly, with education, healthcare, agriculture and rural development emerging as major beneficiaries.
Tagged “Building Your Future IV,” the proposed Appropriation Bill was presented by the governor before lawmakers on Tuesday as a development-focused spending plan aimed at improving living conditions and extending government projects and services to communities across the state.
Radda said the budget was carefully designed to address the needs of residents while maintaining fiscal discipline in the face of revenue and expenditure realities.
According to him, N637.91 billion, representing 76.98 per cent of the proposed budget, has been earmarked for capital expenditure, while N190.73 billion, or 23.02 per cent, is allocated to recurrent spending.
The 2027 proposal is N69.23 billion lower than the approved 2026 budget, representing a 7.71 per cent reduction.
The governor explained that the downward adjustment was the result of a realistic review of the state’s expected revenues and spending capacity.
Education, Agriculture, Health Get Major Boost
Under the sectoral breakdown, the Social Sector takes the largest share at N317.73 billion, representing 38.34 per cent of the total budget.
The Economic Sector receives N303.17 billion, or 36.59 per cent, while N198.55 billion is allocated to the Administrative Sector. The Law and Justice sector is projected to receive N9.19 billion.
From the capital expenditure component, five priority areas will collectively receive N325.45 billion.
Basic and Higher Education is allocated N83.82 billion, followed by Works and Housing with N71.60 billion.
Agriculture and Livestock gets N65.88 billion, while Health receives N53.64 billion. Rural Development is allocated N50.51 billion.
361 Wards to Get Special Projects
A major feature of the proposed budget, Radda said, is its emphasis on grassroots participation.
The governor described the 2027 fiscal plan as the most participatory budget in the history of Katsina State, saying its priorities were significantly influenced by the Citizens’ Budget Exercise conducted simultaneously across all 361 wards on July 18.
He explained that residents were given the opportunity to identify, assess and rank the projects they considered most important to their communities.
The top-priority project selected in each ward, he said, has now been incorporated into the state’s development framework for 2027.
“Our people named their needs, weighed them and ranked them,” Radda said, stressing that the budget was built around the actual priorities of communities rather than assumptions made from a distance.
He further disclosed that each of the 361 wards will receive a special project chosen by its residents, while information gathered from the grassroots exercise will also shape government interventions in agriculture, MSMEs, water and sanitation, women empowerment, environmental protection, climate action and security.
Radda Seeks Speedy Passage
The governor urged lawmakers to give the Appropriation Bill thorough and constructive consideration and ensure its passage within the required timeframe to enable his administration commence implementation without delay.
Responding, the Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Hon. Nasiru Yahaya, assured the governor that lawmakers would commence deliberations on the proposal and expedite legislative action towards its passage.
The proposed N828.64 billion spending plan will now undergo legislative scrutiny before its eventual consideration and possible approval by the Assembly.
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