Kebbi N580bn budget: ‘No missing money, only unrealised revenue’ — State Govt

The Kebbi State Government has dismissed allegations of financial mismanagement linked to its N580.33 billion 2025 budget, asserting that the funds reported as unaccounted for were never received. Ibrahim Abubakar Jombali, a Special Adviser to Governor Nasir Idris, made this claim in response to an analysis by Bello Abdullahi, Director of Strategic Communications.

Abdullahi had raised questions about the discrepancy between projected and actual revenue and expenditure, particularly concerning the Capital Development Fund. According to Abdullahi's analysis, Kebbi expected N276.27 billion from the Capital Development Fund but only realized N47.45 billion, resulting in a shortfall of over N228 billion.

The analysis also showed that the state's total revenue, including the opening balance, amounted to N275.39 billion, whereas total expenditure was N239.77 billion. Moreover, Kebbi had budgeted N451.01 billion for capital expenditure but later reduced it to N442.38 billion, with actual capital spending totaling N152.85 billion. Jombali argued that the analysis incorrectly treated unrealized revenue as money that should have been available to the government.

He emphasized that a budget is a projection of revenue and planned expenditure, not funds currently in the government's possession. Jombali specifically contested the claim that the N228 billion shortfall in the Capital Development Fund represented unaccounted funds, stating that the projected revenue simply did not materialize.

He noted that Kebbi received more than N172 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, which constituted 82.6 percent of the projected N209.25 billion. Additionally, internal revenue sources accounted for more than 70 percent of the target. Jombali pointed out that the government adjusted its spending based on the lower-than-expected revenue rather than drawing from non-existent funds.

He also mentioned that the state spent nearly N240 billion in that year, including over N152 billion on capital projects. The analysis by Abdullahi also scrutinized spending in sectors such as agriculture, works and transport, education, and health, which collectively received N103.07 billion, N59.71 billion, N56.59 billion, and N53.56 billion, respectively.

Jombali challenged critics alleging financial mismanagement to pinpoint specific instances of fund diversion or failure to account for funds, asserting that merely questioning the budget figures does not prove public money was missing.