Nasarawa Monthly Allocation Jumps From N4.5bn To N16bn, Says Sule

Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, has disclosed that the state’s monthly allocation from the Federation Account has risen to between N14 billion and N16 billion, up from an average of N3.8 billion to N4.5 billion before 2023.

The governor attributed the over 300 per cent increase to the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange rate.

Governor Sule made the disclosure on Saturday at the Government House, Lafia, while hosting members of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors Presidential Media Team led by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Chief Bayo Onanuga. The team is on a verification tour of federal and state projects across the North Central geopolitical zone.

According to him, the reforms have freed up resources previously consumed by subsidies, enabling the state to execute major capital projects without resorting to bank loans.

“I can tell you for free, Nasarawa State is receiving an average of 14 to 16 billion every month,” Sule said.

He listed key projects being executed with the increased resources to include the Mararaba dual flyover at N16.7 billion, the Keffi flyover at N11.4 billion, the dualisation of Akwanga township at N7.1 billion, the Akwanga underpass at N6.6 billion, the Shendam Road dualisation at N5.6 billion, and the storm drain water channel at Amba Bridge at N3.3 billion.

“If you calculate so far, you will see that we spend about 90 billion. Now, Nasarawa State, no way in the past years could think of spending this amount of money,” he stated, recalling that in 2019 the state struggled for months to secure a N5 billion bond for a market project.

“All the projects we are doing in Nasarawa State today at no borrowing from the bank is as a result of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s support. So you must give him the credit for that,” the governor added.

Sule also highlighted investments in vocational education, healthcare and agriculture, including a skill acquisition centre offering training in 12 trades, a specialist hospital under construction in Akwanga, and a 10,000-hectare rice farm.

Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, Barr. Labaran Shuaibu Magaji, SAN, welcomed the delegation and described the visit as a demonstration of the strong partnership between the state and the federal government.

In his remarks, Chief Onanuga said the visit was aimed at verifying that resources freed by federal reforms were being deployed for their intended purposes, noting that Nasarawa State has become an industrial hub under Governor Sule’s administration.