The Zamfara State government led by Governor Dauda Lawal will spend N3 billion as “payment for consultancy services for government projects and programmes” in 2024, SaharaReporters can report.
The amount is contained in the state’s 2024 appropriation bill of N426 billion signed into law by the governor in December 2023.
The approved budget was tagged as the Budget of Rescue.
The budget estimate has N118 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure, which is 27 per cent and the sum of N308 billion which is 75 per cent, was allocated for capital expenditure.
A check on the budget by SaharaReporters also revealed that 950 million was budgeted for the construction of nine palaces for traditional rulers in the state.
They are the Emirs of Anka, Bungudu, Maru, Tsafe, Kaura, Namoda, Moriki, Bukkuyum and Bakura.
Construction of mosques across the 14 local government councils in the state will cost the government N200 million while another N150 million will be used to build cemeteries.
Zamfara, like other North-West states, has in the last 10 years faced devastating attacks from bandits.
In 2019, the state government entered a peace agreement with the gunmen.
About 15 brand new Hilux vehicles and cash gifts were given to leaders of different ‘repentant’ gangs of bandits by the immediate past governor and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle in 2020.
But despite all these, communities in the state were still attacked and residents were kidnapped and/or killed.
