By Ibrahim Muhammad
Citizens across the 287 political wards in Jigawa State are expected to submit between 1,200 and 1,500 priority projects and interventions for consideration in the state’s 2027 budget.
The inputs were generated during citizens’ budget town hall meetings organised across the three senatorial districts by the Exceptional Leadership and Integrity Promotion Initiative (ELIP-Initiative), in collaboration with the Jigawa State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
Speaking during the exercise, Executive Director of ELIP-Initiative, Comrade Isah Mustapha, said the consultation was designed to give citizens and other stakeholders an opportunity to contribute directly to the formulation of the 2027 budget.
He said representatives of the 287 political wards participated in the exercise, with each ward expected to identify three priority projects or interventions that would address pressing challenges in their communities.
According to him, the consultations focused mainly on human capital development, health, education, empowerment, environment, water and sanitation.
Isah said participants were also sensitised on the need to distinguish between community “needs” and “wants” and concentrate on interventions that would have direct and measurable impact on the people.
“We sensitised them on the difference between needs and wants and encouraged them to focus on priorities that would have direct impact on their communities,” he said.
He explained that the inputs gathered from the consultations would be analysed according to ministries, departments and agencies, as well as constituencies, before being forwarded for consideration in the state’s budget process.
Isah, however, urged the state government to prioritise projects based on available resources to ensure effective implementation.
He said the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework projections indicated about N570 billion, while expected revenue was approximately N560 billion, stressing the need for caution in determining the size of the 2027 budget.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Babandi Umar Gantsa, represented by the Director of Budget, Malam Auwalu Muhammad, said citizens’ participation remained an important component of the state’s budget process.
Muhammad said the engagement was intended to enable citizens and other stakeholders to influence government’s development priorities and ensure that budgetary allocations reflected the needs of communities.
Meanwhile, the 2025 budget performance presented at the meeting showed that Jigawa State spent N491.619 billion out of the N756.3 billion approved expenditure, representing 65 per cent implementation.
The presentation also showed that actual revenue stood at N550.656 billion against the projected N756.3 billion, representing 73 per cent performance.
Capital expenditure recorded 58 per cent implementation, with N344.351 billion spent out of N588.84 billion budgeted.
Education recorded 59 per cent implementation, while the health sector achieved 72 per cent. Infrastructure received the largest sectoral allocation, with 76 per cent implementation recorded.
