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.”