It is widely known that the Sokoto State Government projected to earn and spend N526.88 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, in active pursuit of its 9-Point Agenda to reset the economic outlook of the state, and improve the living conditions of its people. Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto presented the proposed income and expenditure profiles of the state for the upcoming year before the 30 honourable members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly on November 29, 2024.
He prefaced the new budget outlines with a review of the impressive achievements of the government under the outgoing yearly budget.
The expenditure priorities of the new financial plan, just like the one before it, reflected a faithful commitment of Governor Aliyu Ahmad Sokoto to the nine areas he promised to make positive and enduring impacts in his first tenure of office. These are education, health, water, agriculture, security, youth empowerment, local government autonomy, in addition to religious affairs and the economy.
And, following our custom of placing a nametag on annual government fiscal plans, thegovernor tagged his 2025 proposals as the “transformation and infrastructural sustainability budget”.
The name tag further underscores his earnest desire to improve the economic fortunes of the state through effective fiscal measures that place strong emphasis on the provision of roads and other targeted public infrastructures that promote access to quality education, expand healthcare opportunities, improve water supply and support increased agricultural activities.
The key points of interest in the Sokoto state 2025 budget may not include the size or sources of the expected incomes, or the complexity of the planned projects. This is understandable. In sheer budget size, neither Sokoto nor any other state in the North West zone qualifies to play in the league of the high income and heavy spending states. For instance, that Lagos state, the acclaimed economic heavyweight champion, outlined a budgetary provision of a whopping N3.5 trillion for its 2025 governance operations.Similarly, the neighbouring Ogun, and the oil-producing Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom states all projected a yearly expenditure package that either hit the N1 trillion mark, or inched very close to it, for their 2025 operations.
Yet, the modest N526.88 billion Sokoto state 2025 budget parades a number of positive features and historic facts that are of significant interest to close watchers of political events at the Seat of the Caliphate. For instance, it is significant to see how quickly the financial fortunes of the state have turned around for the better, under the prudent leadership and capable oversight of Dr Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto. The evident fiscal discipline of the moment marks a refreshing departure from the gross misapplication of resources that characterized the eight locust years of one Barrister Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
Today, in Sokoto state, the government has prioritised capital spending, as it places more emphasis on the provision of physical infrastructures needed to drive growth in the real economic sectors, that have sustainable positive impacts on the lives of the ordinary people.
It is instructive to note that Dr Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s regime has planned to spend 66 percent of its 2025 gross revenues on capital projects, while devoting 34 percent to recurrent expenditures that cater for the needs of public servants. In comparison, the Kano State government proposed to spend 43 percent of its own yearly incomes on salaries and wages, rents and utilities, payment of interests on loans, maintenance and repairs of government assets, plus subsidies and transfers to individuals and organizations. Even the mighty Lagos state will spend as much as 41 percent of its huge budgetary outlay on running costs, leaving 59 percent for enduring projects. In fact, Sokoto State, along with Anambra and Kaduna states, are among the very few states that have commendably managed to restrict their recurrent expenditures to 34 percent or less, creating room for sustained capital investments in their respective state economies.
To really appreciate why the spending ratio of 66:34 percent in favour of capital projects is significant for the people of Sokoto state, we will do well to refresh our memories on what happened in 2022, the last full fiscal year of the wasted tenure of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
In that year, Sokoto state government inexplicably prioritized recurrent expenditure over and above the provision of enduring infrastructure. Documented evidence showed that, under Tambuwal, the state government “shifted its focus from capital expenditure (capex), to a greater emphasis on recurrent expenditure, with 57.82 of its total expenses, amounting to 80.32 billion, directed towards operational costs’.
Recurrent expenditure comprises of the expenses the government incurs in day-to-day running of its business. These include personnel costs like staff salaries, pensions and gratuities, as well as social contributions make up personnel costs; and overhead charges like rents, shipping costs, office supplies and consumables, consultancy services, advertising, staff training, official travels and accommodation, legal expenses and maintenance of quipment.
When a government spends 58 percent of its revenue on the cost of running the government, leaving a smaller portion of 42 percent for the execution of needed public infrastructures, it distorts the fiscal landscape, creates unbearable debt burden, reduces economic growth, increases dependence on borrowing and limits government ability to handle situational financial challenges. It can be said, in plain language, that the administration of Aminu Tambuwal was reckless, ineffective, wasteful and not mindful of sustainable development of its citizens.
As if it was not bad enough for the Tambuwal regime to fritter resources on consumer items and disposables, the government still owed arrears of basic recurrent items like pensions and gratuities to the tune of N15 billion, unleashing misery and early death on many persons who had devoted their lives to the service of the state in various capacities.
By reversing the ugly trend of fiscal indiscipline, and raising the ratio of capital budget to an appreciable level of 66 percent, the Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s government can be praised for actively promoting the provision of the infrastructure that the people need to drive sustainable economic growth.
Posterity will remember him favourably for downplaying the emphasis on fleeting items and consumables that facilitate comfort for the public servants at the detriment of the people.
It is important to note that government annual budgeting goes beyond the routine assemblage of figures that show anticipated incomes, matched with random choices of where and how to spend the money. Instead, the incumbent government in Sokoto state has commendably used the budget as a tool for social and economic engineering. In that spirit, it has made strategic decisions on how to allocate resources to achieve the most good for the largest number of the citizens.
The distribution of resources, as it occurs in the 2025 projections of the Sokoto State budget is, indeed, a study in fiscal discipline, inclusiveness, and resources optimization. Earlier in this write up, we noted that, in both the upcoming and outgoing yearly budgets, Governor Aliyu Ahmad endeavoured to allocate resources in strict accordance with his electioneering campaign phrase of 9-point agenda. The first point on the agenda is education. In that vein, it did not come as a surprise to informed stakeholders in the Sokoto project, that the education sector got the Lion’s share of the modest budget, to the tune of 25 percent cut of the entire financial pie. That is to say, for every N100 to be spent by the government in the coming year, N25 or one quarter, will go to the school system.
All over the world, but especially in the developing countries, the size of educational funding is one of the yardsticks for gauging the effectiveness of public governance. The UNESCO recommends that 26 percent of state budgets should be devoted to education. The World Bank advises that national and sub national governments should spend between 20 and 30 percent of their yearly incomes on teaching, learning and technology innovations to conduce sustainable development. Priority is to be given to basic education, to which every child must be entitled.
On its part, the Nigeria National Policy on Education, which is now generally observed in the breach, provides that no less than 26 percent of the national and state budgets should be allocated to the education sector. Among the global pacesetters, like the United State of America, average state allocation to education ranks as high as 35-40 percent of gross annual spendings.
We need to keep the above examples and global benchmarks in mind to fully appreciate the strategic importance of the decision of the Sokoto State Government, under Dr Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto, to commit 25 percent of the annual budget towards the expansion of educational opportunities in the state. He has earned the bragging rights and richly deserves to be applauded by all people of goodwill. These examples are worthy of imitation, especially by the Federal Government of Nigeria which persistently falls short of all international benchmarks, including its on expectations on educational funding.
Another remarkable feature of the Sokoto budget under review is the cautious avoidance of accumulating costly bank loan facilities to fund both the recurrent and capital government portfolios. The distaste for reckless borrowing goes to show a leader who is determined to leave positive footprints on the sands of time and space.
Not quite long ago in one state of the North West, an egoistic governor accumulated loans, both local and foreign, and only to leave the succeeding government with dozens of unfinished projects, a huge debt burden and skyhigh interest payments that make a complete mess of the state government’s fiscal balances.
Some who claim to be experts would argue that borrowing to fund a budget is not bad in itself, but depends on the application of the borrowed funds. Though it sounds reasonable, but no economist has pointed to just one example where a nation, or a state, borrowed its way to economic prosperity and social stability. The self evident truth is that if one borrows to marry, he will have to mortgage the future of his children to the lender. Some will point to the United States of America as the greatest debtor, but they choose to forget that the USA debt stock is denominated in Dollars printed in the country, and that the huge debts we hear about will never be repaid. It is not so with us. Reckless official borrowing has contributed in no small ways to the creation of the current economic woes of many states, and the nation in general. Thankfully, Governor Ahmad Aliyu has not fallen in line with reckless borrowing, to massage his ego with elephant projects, or to please bank owners, and subsequently leave the state in piles of uncompleted projects, coupled with killer debt overhang. Nor does the government seek to squeeze blood out of the struggling citizens through unbearable taxes and levies.
So long, in this article, we, as impartial observers, have endeavoured to point out the many areas where the governor of Sokoto State has displayed brilliant skills in using yearly budgets as effective tool of transformational leadership. His restriction on recurrent expenditure is commendable and worthy of emulation by other governments. Effective funding of education is another remarkable feat of the Sokoto State 2025 budget, so is the cautious avoidance of reckless borrowing.
A dispassionate analyst of the Sokoto 2025 budget cannot also overlook the understandable emphasis on security. The fundamental essence of government is to secure the lives and property of the citizens. If government fails in this regard, life returns to the Hobessian state of nature: brutish, nasty and short. Although our constitution leaves security matters in the exclusive domain of the Federal Government, sub-national governments like Sokoto State and others that face serious security challenges can not fold their hands and watch their citizens being harassed, raped, kidnapped or even killed by mindless criminals and merchants of terror. Accordingly, security is among the 9-point agenda of Dr Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s government. And since he swore to put government money only the areas of real need, substantial budgetary allocation was made to security, which will enable the state government to continue to provide the logistics and other assistance needed by the Federal Security Agencies to curb the menace of insecurity in parts of Sokoto State.
Inclusive budgeting is not the forte of many governments, in our climes and beyond. Much of the time, the poor and the underprivileged persons in the society only hear, but never get to directly feel the effect of government expenditure. We are glad to see that the administration of Dr Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto charted a new course in this regard. Under a well thought-out welfare policy, the government has reinstated and increased monthly allocations to people living with disabilities. Cash payments to mosques to care for the needy, and documented preachers across the state have also been placed on allowances by the government.
The government operates subsidized public transport system with a fleet of buses, tricycles and motorcycles, aimed at cushioning the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal. There is no gainsaying that any coordinated and consistent effort to uplift the marginalized persons in the society is a step in the right direction.
When one looks at the bold steps to link up all parts of Sokoto State through 40 ongoing road projects aside the 30 urban roads already delivered; the substantial budgetary provisions to expand urban water supply, in addition to multiple irrigation projects to enable farmers engage in year-round agricultural activities, nobody should be left in doubt that Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto means business. He is capable and committed to changing the development narrative of Sokoto State for the better.
Again, good intentions are not always enough to bring the desired results. A budget may seem good on paper, but still falls short yielding the expected results. To avoid this pitfall, the governor should institute an effective monitoring system to track the progress of the 2025 budget implementation from the onset. Revenue collectors should likewise be properly trained, adequately remunerated and monitored to work in line with the objectives of the government. If things work out as planned, there is no doubt that Sokoto State will, after eight years of Dr Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s leadership, inshallah, look totally different from what he inherited on May 29, 2023!
Abubakar Dan Bala, a public analyst, writes from Sokoto.
