The Chief of Staff to the former APC National Chairman and former Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs in Kano State, Mr. Garba, has criticised the NNPP-led administration over what he described as poor budget performance in the first three quarters of 2025.
Garba was reacting to a budget review published by Solacebase, an online platform, which indicated that key sectors such as water resources, health, and education recorded less than 40 per cent capital budget performance between January and September 2025.
He said the findings revealed a wide gap between the administration’s public statements and its actual performance.
Garba said the figures reflected what he called the failure of a government that prioritised propaganda over governance.
According to the review, the Ministry of Water Resources recorded only 13 per cent capital performance after spending ₦2.7 billion out of its ₦21.1 billion allocation.
It also showed that the Kano State Water Board, which received ₦5.6 billion for capital projects, did not spend any part of its allocation within the period under review.
Garba described the development as “a shocking dereliction of duty,” noting that residents continued to experience water scarcity across several local government areas.
“It is tragic that a government which declared a state of emergency on water supply has failed to invest even one per cent of the Water Board’s allocation,” he said.
He said the government had abandoned ongoing projects initiated by the previous administration, including the Tiga Hydropower Project designed to support water pumping and street lighting.
The former commissioner said that after abandoning the more efficient IPP model, the government continued to pay millions of naira monthly to KEDCO for electricity — a situation he alleged may favour certain individuals.
Garba also faulted the administration’s performance in the education sector.
He said that despite declaring a state of emergency and allocating the highest share of the budget to education, the results remained discouraging.
The Ministry of Education recorded 32.2 per cent capital performance, while the Ministry of Higher Education achieved only 7.7 per cent.
He said the administration’s focus on sponsoring selected students abroad appeared more like political patronage than an effort to strengthen the education system.
“Local schools remain underfunded, overcrowded, and poorly equipped, while completed projects like the Mega Secondary School along Court Road have been abandoned,” he said.
Garba also expressed concern over the health sector’s performance.
He said only ₦7.9 billion of the ₦65.7 billion capital budget for health was utilised by September 2025.
He noted that such underinvestment was unacceptable in a state battling recurring cholera outbreaks and high infant and maternal mortality rates.
“Failure to fund primary healthcare and water infrastructure is costing lives,” he said.
The former commissioner further criticised the quality of ongoing road projects.
He said many of the works were hurried and poorly coordinated, adding that surface-scraping and overlay projects had created traffic congestion due to inadequate planning.
Garba said the figures raised doubts about the state government’s ability to manage the proposed ₦1 trillion budget for 2025.
“When a government cannot implement even half of its approved budget, proposing a trillion-naira budget becomes nothing more than a political performance,” he said.
He urged the state government to prioritise transparency, fiscal discipline, and effective project execution in the remaining months of the fiscal year.
