The Kaduna State government has committed a total sum of N44.84 billion to the Education sector in the 2017 budget which was signed into law today by Governor Nasir El-Rufai. This represents the highest ever budgetary commitment to Education in the history of the state. The sum also represents the highest sectorial allocation in the budget. Below is an excerpt of the speech at the budget signing ceremony:

We signed the 2016 Budget on 22 December 2015. We have done better this year by presenting our draft estimates on 12th October. This feat is the product of hard and diligent policy work, and cooperation across the government. I hope that this marks the institutionalization in Kaduna State of a disciplined budget process that aligns the fiscal and calendar years. The 2017 Budget size is N214.921bn, made up of N83.46bn in recurrent spending and N131.45bn in capital expenditure. This is a capital to recurrent ratio of 61:39.

This budget is deliberately structured to be expansionary, rising from the N172bn approved for 2016. Precisely because we need to increase spending in a recession. The budget retains our commitment to pro-poor programmes that directly address our commitment to improving access to education, healthcare, infrastructure, jobs and security. It puts the needs and interests of our people first.

In 2017, Kaduna State will spend N44.84bn on Education; N10.49bn on Health; N24.50bn on Infrastructure and N8.1bn on Water.

You can access and download the Kaduna State 2017 signed budget here: