By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe
The 2025 budget of Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, is unique in the sense that it was the biggest size budget in the history of Gombe since it’s creation in 1996.
The 2025 budget was painstakingly prepared in line with global best practice and the journey made so far, is full of collective sacrifice from the length and breadth of the state.
Speaking at the backdrop of the 2025 budget in Gombe weekend, the Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Salihu Baba Alkali said that these sacrifices and patience are no doubt, yielding positive development across the state in order to fulfill the promises made to the people of Gombe State by Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.
Appraisal of 2024 budget performance:
According to the Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning ,Alhaji Salihu Baba Alkali, the total approved budget for the state was ₦208,064,000,000,00 for the state which was later revised to ₦364,713,011,854.92 in order to optimise resource utilisation and approved by the State House of Assembly.
The Recurrent Revenue revised approved 2024 budget was 281,188,646,433.42 and the Actual Revenue Expenditure from January – September, 2024 was 228,401,294,135.39 which recorded 81.22 percent.
Also, Recurrent Expenditure revised approved 2024 budget was 99,842,515,000,00 and the Actual Revenue Expenditure from January -September, 2024 was 65,115,857,560.44, the performance was 65.21 percent.
Capital Receipt for revised approved budget was 396,706,131,433.42 while Actual Revenue Expenditure from January to September was 264,578,845,065.57 recording 66.69 percent and the Capital Expenditure revised approved was 264,870,496,854.92 and Actual Revenue Expenditure stood at 114,141,915,328.12 with 43.09 percent.
This performance, the Commissioner said, was as at September 30th, 2024 which meant that at the end of 2024, none of the items above would record below 80% performance.
On the issue of 2025 budget tagged ” Budget of Commitment and Resilient”, Alhaji Alkali said that the budget was prepared with the guidance of the resource forecast using the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) and a wider engagement of community leaders, trade Unions, Civil Society Organisations, Non- governmental Organisations and religious leaders to come up with the budget.
According to Alkali, the budget main priority areas are the expansion of the physical infrastructure in all the locations of the state, deepening the education sector investment for an overall quality access to primary, secondary and tertiary education, strengthening and reinvigorating investment in human capital development and deepening investment in rural and urban areas.
Others are putting in place a functional social protection policy, safety net programmes for the youths, women, physically challenged, the rural poor and the aged people in the state, strengthen development partnership and confidence building and functionalizing existing health care architecture, upgrading of the critical ones for improved access as well as deliberate attention to human resources for health, equipment and drugs.
Solidifying the interest of the people of Gombe State in Agricultural production, value chain development and production for exports and a renewed enabling environment for Ease of Doing Business in the state to attract investors and tenacious internal Revenue drive are priority areas, Alkali said
Also, zero tolerance to non – adherence to fiscal responsibility and management principles and Strengthening the existing security architecture and promotion of peaceful co- existence were critically considered in the budget.
By focusing on these key areas in 2025, the Commissioner, said the administration of Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, would leave no stone unturned to better the lives of the people of Gombe State.
He also pointed out that the increase in the size of 2025 budget as against the 2024 revised budget was because of the desire of the administration to impact positively on the lives of the people of Gombe State through the prudent use of the meager resources.
Comparative Analysis of 2024/2025 Recurrent Expenditure:
According to him, the details of expenditure for personnel cost was 29,229,855,000,00 for 2024 while 2025 is 32,245,765,000,00 giving increase/ decrease of 10.31 percent leading to 8.71 percent of the total budget.
Overhead cost in 2024 was 31,034,960,000.00 and 38,088,750,000.00 for 2025 giving the increase/ decrease of 22.72 percent of 10.29 of total budget while Social Benefits is 7,725,500,000.00 in 2024 and 8,034,000,000.00 recording 3.99 increase/ decrease of total budget 2.17 percent.
Also, debt service is 31,525,000,000.00 and in 2025 is 37,225,000,000,00 giving 18.08 that amounts 10.02 of the total budget and Grants & Subsidies was 327,200,000.00 in 2024 and 411,200,000,00 for 2025 giving 25.67 increase/ decrease with 0.00011 of total budget hence giving the details of expenditure for 2024 as 99,842,515,000.00 and 2025 as 116,004,715,000.00 leading to 16.18 with 31.36 of the total budget of recurrent expenditure of the year.
Total 99,842,515,000,00 in 2024 and 116,004,715,000,00 in 2025 with 16.18 increase of 31.36 of the total budget.
Comparative Analysis of 2024/2025 Capital Expenditure:
Also, in the areas of Capital Expenditure, the Alkali explained that the Economic Sector in the last year had 227,667,696,854.00 and in 2025, it was 178,403,600,000,00 giving increase/ decrease of 21.63 percent of 48.23 percent of the total budget while Social Sector had 26,267,500,000.00 and in 2025, it is 62,098,1850,000.00 with 136.40 increase/ decrease representing 16.78 percent of total budget.
Law & Justice in 2024 had 3,578,800,000.00 and in 2025, it is 3,908,000,000,00 with increase/ decrease 9.19 percent representing 1.06 percent of the total budget and the General Administration also had 7,356,500,000,00 and in 2025, it is 9,488,000,000.00 with increase/ decrease 28.9 % representing 2.57 percent of the total budget.
The total of sectoral allocations was 264,870,496,854,90 and in 2025, it is 253,897,785,000,00 with increase/ decrease of4.14 percent representing 68.64 percent of total budget of Capital Expenditure.
Comparative Analysis of 2024/2025 Recurrent Revenue Expenditure:
Revenue is the backbone of effective and efficient service delivery hence Internal Generated Revenue was 25,056,555,500,00 and in 2025 it is 25,660,245,000,00 ,an increase of 2.42 percent representing 17.58 of total budget; Statutory Allocation in the previous year was 17,000,000,000,00 and in 2025, it is now 15,000,000,000,00 with 11.76 representing 10.28 of total budget.
VAT had 57,000,000,000,00 and 50,000,000,000,00 with 12.28 percent representing 34.27 of total budget and other FAAC had it 142,104,200,000,00 and 55,250,000,000,00 in 2025 with 61.12 percent of 37.87 percent of the total budget.
Total in 2024 was 241,160,755,500.00 while 2025 stood at 145,910,245,000.00 with 39.50 increase representing 100.00 percent of the total recurrent revenue budget.
Comparative Analysis of 2024/2025 Capital Receipts:
In the regards, the opening balance for 2024 is40,027,890,933.42 with 2025 as 120,000,000,000,00 with increase of 199.80 representing 50.69 total capital Receipt, domestic grant is 125,000,000,000,00 and 15,720,000,000,00 for 2025 with 87.42 increase representing 6.64 percent of total capital Receipt.
Local Government Contribution was 5,000,000,000,00 and in 2025, it was 2,500,000,000,00 with 50.00 increase representing 1.06 of the capital Receipt.
Federal government reimbursement under review was 3,000,000,000,00 and in 2025, it was 2,000,000,000.00 with 33.33 percent representing 0.84, Internal loans as 2024 was 32,000,000,000,00 and was 7,000,000,000,00 with 78.12 representing 2.95 of total capital Receipt and External Credit is 47,160,000,000,00 and 87,200,000,000,00 at 84.90 representing 36.84 percent of capital Receipt.
Total was 255,387,890,933.00 in 2024 and 2025 it stood at 236,720,000,000,00 with 7.31 percent.
The Commissioner of Budget and Economic y, Alhaji Salihu Baba Alkali made it clear that 2025 budget allocated education 15.14 percent, health is 9.14 percent, Agriculture is 5.40 percent, infrastructure 22.82 percent, Water & Sanitation; 15.62 percent.
He said that the 2025 financial year, Government would ensure optimum utilisation of resources within the approved budget.
Alkali added that Government would therefore ensure adequate tracking of all incomes and expenditures in compliance with the relevant budgetary provision to serve as feedback mechanism in order to achieve the desired objectives of providing the dividend of democracy to the people.
