Two local government areas of Birnin Gwari and Zaria in Kaduna State on Wednesday presented their 2026 budget proposals before the state House of Assembly.

While Birnin Gwari presented a N7 billion appropriation bill, Zaria has a budget size of N7.1 billion, with both prioritising security, health and education.

The Chairman of Birnin Gwari, Salisu Isa, who presented the N7 billion budget, said security remains the top priority of the council, citing the volatility of the area.

Mr Isa said, “The first priority of every government is to protect the property and lives of its citizens. That is why about N4 billion is allocated to recurrent expenditure, while N3 billion is earmarked for capital projects.”

He stated that the local government relies heavily on federal allocations and a share of the state’s internally generated revenue, adding that efforts were ongoing to enhance local revenue generation.

Mr Isa also commended the state leadership, asserting that under Governor Uba Sani, “almost 70–80 per cent of our challenges had been resolved.”

Similarly, the chairman of Zaria LGA, Muhammad Jamil, submitted a N7.1 billion budget proposal, with plans to prioritise health, education, security, agriculture, youth and women’s empowerment.

On revenue generation, Mr Jamil said that significant progress was made in internally generated revenue over the past three months, depressing optimism that it would further improve by the end of the year.

He said, “If you check our internally generated revenue, you can see a tremendous improvement, and we hope to enhance it even more.”

Mr Ahmed further stated that the proposed budget aligned with the development agenda of the Government Oversight Administration, with collaboration between the local and state governments.

(NAN)