El Rufai signs N376.4bn 2023 budget

Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State has signed the 2023 appropriation bill of over N376.4 billion into law.

The Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Hajiya Umma Aboki, on Thursday, said that the budget prioritized the health and education sectors with an allocation of 43.70 per cent, explaining that 15.70 per cent was for Health and 28 per cent for Education.

“This is consistent with the State Government’s commitment to allocate a minimum of 15 per cent and 25 per cent of its total annual budget respectively to Health and Education,’’ she said.

The commissioner added that the allocation of about three per cent of the budget to social welfare and pro-poor interventions has been spread across various implementing Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

Aboki said that N240.9 billion of the budget, representing 64.01 per cent of the budget, was for Capital Expenditure while N135.5 billion, representing 35.99 per cent, was for Recurrent Expenditure.

“The 2023 Budget, which is referred to as the “Budget of Continuous Growth and Development”, epitomizes continuity of development while strategizing on minimizing economic shocks occasioned by the unintended effects of policy reforms.

“Budget is focused on cushioning the negative effects by prioritizing human capital and social development, and the completion of ongoing projects with a view to consolidating the achievements of the past seven years that will enable the smooth transition of government,” the commissioner said.

Aboki said that the state expects N89.2 billion as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and N59.9 billion as statutory allocation, including Exchange Gains, Excess Bank Charges, Equalization Funds and Ecological Funds of N3.4billion.

The commissioner also said that the state government is expecting N30.7 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT); N62.7 billion, N61.6 billion, N20.9 billion as Internal Grants, External Loans and External Grants, respectively.