Other capital expenditures include the renovation of the governor’s residence and the renovation of the G-9 guest house.
The Guardian found this by perusing the state’s budget implementation document for the fourth quarter of 2024.
In its government house budget implementation report for that period, it was revealed that the sum of N1,706,450,140 was expended on the procurement of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and N22,237,072.67 was spent on the envisaged outstanding payment for the purchase of furniture and other equipment.
The government house also spent N161,549,242.30 on the renovation of the G-9 government guest house, while an additional N22,333,586.8 was spent on the construction of laundry and toilet at the presidential lodge.
READ ALSO: Jigawa anti graft agency recovers N300m embezzled funds
Jigawa, Nigeria’s third poorest state
The Multidimensional Poverty Index published in 2022 by the National Bureau of Statistics dubbed Jigawa as Nigeria’s poorest state in terms of the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) value behind Sokoto and Bayelsa.
“In terms of the MPI value, which captures the proportion of poor people as well as the intensity of their poverty, the poorest states are Sokoto, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Kebbi, Gombe and Yobe, but we cannot say for sure which of these is the poorest, because statistically their confidence intervals,” the report read in part.
In February, the United Nations International Children’s Enforcement Fund (UNICEF) revealed that 89.4% of children in the state experience monetary poverty.
“It is a sobering reality that 89.4% of children in the Jigawa State experience monetary poverty, while 85.6% are multi dimensionally poor, facing deprivations in at least three critical areas, including Health, education, nutrition, water sanitation, shelter, access to information, and child protection,” said UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in Kano, Rahama Rihood Mohammed Farah.
Similar allocations in 2025 budget
READ ALSO: Jigawa govt disburses N733m to 281 retirees
The Guardian also spotted similar allocations in the state’s 2025 budget.
The sum of N400 million was allocated for the renovation and furnishing of the G-9 government guest house and other government houses in the state.
Similarly, N100 million was allocated for the renovation of the governor’s residence in Dutse, and an additional N50 million was allocated for the construction of the governor’s laundry service facility in the government house.
