shocking-Kaduna govt PDP reportedly spent N2.1bn on sweets annually

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state

Kaduna state government under Nasir El-Rufai has said that the previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration of Mukhtar Ramalan Yero reportedly spent N2.1bn on sweet and juice annually.

Premium Times reports through News Agency of Nigeria that the state commissioner for budget and planning Mohammad Abdullahi made this revelation at a round table discussion on Saturday, October 22. He also told the symposium organiszed by the Kaduna state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists that N500 million was spent, annually, on purchase of newspapers by the previous PDP administration

Abdullahi however stated that the fairly new All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of El-Rufai has now started work on cutting down on such expenses and channelling the funds to infrastructural development. He noted that the adoption of the treasury single account and the zero base budget had assisted the state government in generating N38 billion to an open balance of 2016 budget.

“We are borrowing the larger percentage to fund the 2017 budget but it is to be channelled to infrastructural development,” he said. Meanwhile, Kaduna state government has earmarked over N2.55 billion to obtain CCTV cameras and drones, to provide adequate security cover in the state in 2017. More than N1.5 billion of the amount was earmarked for the procurement and installation of CCTV cameras in strategic areas of the state, to reduce crime. The figure is contained in the state’s 2017 budget document currently before the state House of Assembly.