The Kano State Government has defended its 2025 third-quarter budget performance, insisting that critical sectors such as water, health, and education have shown significant progress compared to the previous administration.
During a press briefing, the Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Musa Suleiman Shanono, clarified that the recently published 2025 Q3 Budget Performance Report by Solacebase was limited to State Treasury-funded projects, excluding donor-funded and cross-cutting interventions executed by other ministries.
According to the breakdown, the Ministry of Education recorded a 32.2% capital performance, the Ministry of Science and Technology achieved 23.3%, Water Resources 13.4%, Health 12%, while Higher Education posted 7.7% between January and September 2025.
The briefing highlighted that although performances remain below targets, they represent a notable improvement compared to 2022 under the past administration.
For instance, Education recorded just 15.1% capital performance in the same quarter of 2022, Health achieved only 2.5%, and Higher Education scored 0%.
Shanono noted that additional investments, such as ongoing road rehabilitation under the Urban Renewal Programme and the construction and renovation of classrooms and hospitals by the Ministry of Works, have not yet been fully captured in the budget review.
Responding to recent criticisms from a former state official who described the 2025 performance as “embarrassingly poor,” the government reiterated its commitment to service delivery, especially in sectors with direct public impact.
It cited improvements in student performance during the 2024 and 2025 NECO examinations, stabilisation of workers’ salaries and pensions, and ongoing recruitment of teachers and healthcare professionals as clear indicators of reforms in education and health sectors.
Infrastructure
On water supply, Musa Suleiman Shanono disclosed ongoing efforts to boost infrastructure, including the purchase of new raw water pumps for the Challawa and Tamburawa water plants, as well as expansion works on the power distribution grid supporting the treatment facilities.
He emphasised that the administration also addressed issues with the Tiga and Challawa hydro power plants, claiming “it had inherited debts and operational constraints which engineers are still working to resolve.”
While acknowledging gaps in capital releases, the government maintained that its performance has surpassed the achievements of the previous administration during the same period and assured residents of continued efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in managing public funds.
PIAK