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Niger State Governor Umaru Bago presents 1.5 trillion naira as 2025 budget
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has presented an appropriation bill exceeding N1.5 trillion for the year 2025 to the State Assembly.
The Governor unveiled the budget titled “Budget of Hope for Sustainability and Food Security” at the State Assembly complex in Minna.
The governor said, “Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, you will recall that last year, I presented a budget proposal of 613 billion naira and a supplementary budget of N191,603,304,622.00 billion naira, totalling N805,598,186,519.45 billion naira, which the house graciously approved.
As of November 2024, the budget performance was 68.88%, amounting to N554,914,730,777.21 billion naira of the entire budget.“In 2024, the state witnessed tremendous improvement in increasing our internally generated revenue (IGR).
Between January and September, it grew from N18,073,583,079.90 billion in 2023 to N30,041,847,295.83 billion, representing a 39.84% increase.
“To bridge the infrastructural gap in the state, we made significant investments in road infrastructure. To this end, we are currently constructing 1,030 km of roads, including 556km of roads across the 25 LGAs in the state.
“Mr. Speaker, we recruited over 1000 health workers, flagged off the construction and equipping of 100 Level 2 PHCs; renovated the IBB Specialist Hospital, procured state-of-the-art equipment and enrolled over 104,000 beneficiaries with health insurance to ensure people’s affordability to health care services.
“We are repositioning the educational landscape to be accessible to the people. To this end, we established the Abdulkadir Kure University (AKUM) in Minna.
We supported the students with Scholarships and bursaries totalling N450,000,000.00, awarded to 8,418 beneficiaries.
The state government also secured a 1 million US dollar scholarship for the study of medicine abroad by the children of the less privileged; and we started a process which will see us renovate and construct about 600 secondary schools in the state.
“Mr. Speaker, to improve public transportation and ensure the safety of our roads and waterways. Thus, we procured 200 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses. We have constructed 5No 56-seater engine boats for Kokoli, Gbara Tako, Guzan, Malale and Old Awuru Communities in Agwara, Edati, Mokwa and Borgu Local Government Areas.
In addition, 10 No. 20-seater wooden boats with 75 horsepower engines and provided a water ambulance and two rescue boats through a partnership with NIWA, upgraded the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport and signed a strategic partnership with an Airline for weekly commercial flights in and out of minna.
“Mr. Speaker and Honorable Members, building on the successes of 2024, the proposed 2025 budget aims to solidify rapid socio-economic development of the State and to strengthen the already laid foundation to achieve the New Niger Agenda.
The 2025 Budget, tagged “Budget of Hope for Sustainability and Food Security,” reflects our deliberate focus on addressing state development challenges and economic opportunities.
“This budget will focus on the key economic sectors: Security of lives and properties, Agriculture and Food Security, Health, Education, Water and Sanitation, Infrastructure Development, Social Security, and Environmental Sustainability.
“The 2025 budget preparation followed a participatory, people-centred approach through Citizen Engagement (Town Hall Meetings).
This process, which we hold in high esteem, prioritises citizen involvement, ensuring transparency, accountability, and inclusivity.”
News
HAPPENING NOW: Blackout hits Abuja, Embassies affected
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has announced power outage in various parts of Abuja including hotels and diplomatic buildings.
The AEDC made the announcement in its verified X handle today.
It said the blackout also affected Bolingo Hotel, Wada Maida Building, which houses the headquarters of Sudan, Egypt embassies, Envoy Hotel, the European Union embassy, among others.
The other places affected by the blackout are the National Planning Commission (NPC), the National Hospital, and the Turkish, Pakistani, and Indian embassies.
“Also, Garki Area One, Two, Three, Seven and Eight; Garki village; Garki market; Ubiaja Street; Kaltungo Street; and Lagos Street have been affected.
“Also affected are Oka Akoko Street, Treasury House, Karibu Hotel, and part of Asokoro, such as Yakubu Gowon Street.
“Similarly, Imo Government Lodges, Gado Nasko Street, Justice Sowemimo, Hassan Musa Katsina Streets, part of Jasse Martin, NIA, and TY Danjuma Street are without power supply.
“It said also affected are Lugbe, Jedo, Forte Royal, Back Of Dunamics, Customs Quarters, Aviation Village Piwoye Kapwa Ok Water, Nicomsat, Korean School and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,”.
It attributed the power outage to a technical fault.
“The technical team of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is currently working to restore the power supply.
“We regret the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding,” AEDC said.
News
Burial begins for Oyo school teacher killed by JAS terrorist group
The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.
The burial arrangements for Adesiyan Adegboye, the teacher killed during last Friday’s coordinated attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, began on Friday at Ayegun Baptist Church, Ogbomoso.
Adegboye, 49, was shot dead during the invasion carried out by armed bandits at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele.
The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.
The attackers reportedly stormed the schools around 9:30am, abducting several teachers and students during the operation that threw the communities into panic.
Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, visited the affected area on Saturday and ordered the deployment of additional detectives from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to support ongoing rescue efforts.
News
FG launches GovGuideNigeria to boost citizens governance access
GovGuideNigeria platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijan, has said that Nigerians can now access the government information and services through the newly launched GovGuideNigeria.
The artificial intelligence-powered platform was launched on May 21 by the government in collaboration with Meta, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and local developer partner Publica AI.
According to the Minister, the platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.
Tijani stated that the platform provides users with easy access to information from more than 35 federal ministries and over 60 government agencies.
He described the initiative as part of the government’s efforts to improve public service delivery through technology and digital innovation.
Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Meta, said during the launch “Meta’s open-source AI is critical to economic growth and productivity — and GovGuide Nigeria, is a clear example of what this looks like in practice.
Ignatius Willie, CEO, Publica AI said, “Today is not just a product launch. It is a step towards democratising how Nigerians engage with their government. With GovGuide Nigeria, we are not simply digitising access to public services; we are making them conversational, multilingual, and available on the channels Nigerians already use every day.
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