Mai Mala Buni, the Yobe State governor has signed the 2025 Appropriation Bill earlier passed by the Yobe State House of Assembly into law.
Governor Buni said the 2025 budget, tagged, “Economic Consolidation and Poverty Reduction” would focus on the economic development of the State through empowerment initiatives as it has a total budget size of N320.8 billion.
According to him, the slight adjustments made by the Assembly on the budget size, with a decrease of N15 Million, had demonstrated a strong commitment to serving the people, placing the State’s interests first and ensuring the timely passage of bills into law.
He said, “It is gratifying that in less than two months, the bills have been passed by the House of Assembly and we are here today to perform this important occasion of signing the bills into law to give the government a legal framework for its 2025 expenditure.
“Our administration is committed to judicious use and investment of our repeople-orientedople programmes and projects, especially education, Healthcare delivery, agriculture, Infrastructural development, wealth Creation, and empowerment to stimulate economic growth.
‘‘As the year 2025 sets in, the government will hasten the completion of all ongoing projects, initiate new ones and ensure timely completion of all, in fulfilment of our campaign promises.
‘‘We have identified and mapped out some rich agricultural, livestock and other natural potentials for international investment to generate employment opportunities and wealth Creation.
“As you are all aware, the state government is implementing the N70,000 minimum wage salary structure. This means there is an increase in the wage bill and a decrease in our balance.
“The State Government employed 15 graduates from each of the 178 political wards totalling 2,670, and provided cash support to flood victims, small and medium scale entrepreneurs to stimulate economic growth in line with our policy of employment generation. Therefore, the need to prioritize our needs and programmes with increased prudence in expenditure to foot our bills, cannot be over-emphasized.
“To the 500 beneficiaries s trained on the production of household needs, who are benefitting from the 50 Million Naira cash start-up grant, I congratulate you. This initiative, executed through the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), highlights our administration’s commitment to post-conflict recovery and grassroots empowerment.
” Today, we celebrate not just a training programme but a milestone in our shared quest to transform lives and communities.
“The 500 beneficiaries who were trained in the production of soaps, detergents, charcoal, Shoes and dmarkectants mark a significant milestone in our administration’s commitment to our recovery programme by rebuilding livelihoods, strengthening economic resilience, and fostering stability for a better future of these communities.
“The participants are now equipped with skills to promote self-reliance and local entrepreneurship. Each beneficiary will receive a cash grant of NGN100,000 and a start-up kit to launch their businesses, a sustainable income generation. This program empowers women and youth, who constitute 70% and 30% of beneficiaries respectively.”
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