Kebbi State Government has underfunded the Water, Health, and Education sectors in the state’s financial expenditures.
Kebbi State under Mohammed Nasir Idris, who is serving his first term, has performed below 50% in the critical sectors in its 2024 and 2025 budgetary spending.
WikkiTimes’ analysis of budget performance report reveals that in 2024, Capital Projects in the Ministry of Water Resources got N1 billion in implementation, representing a 13.7 per cent of the proposed N7.6billion.
The report further shows that the capital projects in the Ministry for Basic and Secondary Education received N6.3 billion, which is 45.2 per cent of its capital plan out of the N14 billion allocations. Similarly, the Ministry for Higher Education implemented 39.5 per cent of its N11.4 billion allocation, while the Ministry of Health spent only N2.3 billion out of the N8.1 billion budgeted for its capital projects, reflecting 28.7 per cent delivery.
Budgets Increase, Execution Crashes
In the first quarter of 2025, the indices show that the performance declined further, suggesting a lesser commitment to the sectors. For instance, despite an increased annual budget of N380.3 billion, the capital projects in the Ministry of Water Resources received N86 million out of its N8.1 billion approval, translating to an 11 per cent implementation.Â
The report showed that Basic and Secondary Education, which had a larger allocation of N27.9 billion, executed just 7.9 per cent, with N2.2 billion released. Higher Education fared even worse, with only 1.4 per cent of its N9 billion budget implemented. Health was not spared either, with just 2.3 per cent of its N38.7 billion capital allocation released in the first quarter. If the pattern continues, the state risks a decline in budget performance on capital projects in these ministries, far less than what it recorded in 2024.Â
Citizens Pay the Price
While the allocations on paper may reflect ambition, the actual releases and implementation levels show a gap between intent and impact.
Development experts warn that sustained underinvestment in critical sectors could have long-term consequences for the state’s socioeconomic progress. Without improvements in capital project execution, the state risks widening inequality and slowing human capital development.
Communities across the state continue to struggle with limited access to clean water, deteriorating school facilities, and poorly equipped health centres.
In contrast, Governor Nasir, had in March 2024, distributed 24 brand new Toyota Fortuner Jeeps to members of the state House of Assembly, a decision that drew criticism from citizens and civil society groups who questioned the administration’s fiscal priorities.
A year later, in July 2025, the same lawmakers donated 25 Opel Zafira 2000 model vehicles, each priced between N3.5 million and N6 million, to the Tinubu/Kaura Two Terms (TKT) Campaign Movement, a political group mobilising for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Nasir Idris in 2027. The gesture, framed as support for political continuity, further raises concerns over the use of public resources in the state for partisan purposes at the expense of pressing developmental needs.
