Kaduna State Governor,Malam Nasir El-Rufai, on Tuesday, signed into law the N216.55bn for the 2018 budget,saying the full implementation will commence 1st January next year.
Signing the budget recently passed by the Kaduna State House of Assembly into law at Government House,Kaduna, El-Rufai, said N131.1bn is for capital expenditure,while recurrent expenditure stands at N85.44bn.
The governor explained that the budget is consistent with his administration agenda to spend more on the people than on running government:”But the reflecting our commitment to discharge our obligations to current personnel in the public service and the new staff that are being recruited by many of our agencies.”
El-Rufai,stressed that,the present government radical actions in the education sector consider the future of 2 million primary school pupils as being above whatever sentiments “22,000 unqualified teachers may mobilise.”
The governor said:”The 2018 Budget size is N216.55bn, of which N131.1bn is Capital Expenditure. This is 60.54% of the budget, and is consistent with our agenda to spend more on the people than on running government. But the Recurrent Expenditure is also substantial, at N85.44bn, reflecting our commitment to discharge our obligations to current personnel in the public service and the new staff that are being recruited by many of our agencies”
“We have deliberately tagged the 2018 Budget as the Budget of Consolidation. It is the last full annual budget before the 2019 elections, and it is designed to complete the many projects we have commenced in the service of our people. As I stated during the budget presentation, we have published a record number of tenders as we try to achieve the goals outlined in our manifesto.”
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” These tenders have led to the commencement of many projects across the state. For instance, as at mid-2017, there were 443km of township roads and 16 intercity roads with a distance of 414.8km at various stages of completion. In addition, 17 rural feeder roads with distance of 172 km are being constructed. There are many schools being rebuilt, hospitals being upgraded and equipped, water works being refitted, rehabilitation centres being fixed.”
El-Rufai added:” We are very proud to have initiated these projects in the interest of our people. And we have been clearheaded enough to take on inherited projects that we consider feasible and viable! Some of these have been completed, but others are at various stages of completion.
In 2018, this government will spend N51.4bn on the Social Sector, comprising Education, Health and Social Development. This is the largest chunk of the budget, and the emphasis we place here should not surprise anyone. The Restoration Programme, the document on which we campaigned, is premised on expanding our people’s access to Education and Health, and improving outcomes for them”
“These are the primary sectors for building human capital. And we have no doubt that this is what responsible leadership commands. In fact, it is the substantive essence of democracy to practice public policy in a way that empowers the people, including the poor, by providing a sustainable ladder for social mobility.”
“Social sector spending reflects our commitment to equality of opportunity, a determination to give the poor and their children a realistic chance to improve their life chances! In devoting more than N33bn to Education, we are signalling that we will not be deterred from our quest to provide decent education, within safe and standard school environments using qualified teachers” El-Rufai said.
On his part,Kaduna State House of Assembly speaker,Aminu Shagali, said legislators had scrutinized the 2018 proposed budget before passing adding that, they will monitor full implementation of the budget.
