By Ayomide Otitoju
Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule says the state’s monthly federal allocation has increased to between ₦14 billion and ₦16 billion, from an average of ₦3.8 billion to ₦4.5 billion before 2023.
Sule attributed the increase to reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, particularly the removal of fuel subsidies and changes to the foreign exchange system.
The governor made the disclosure on Saturday while receiving members of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors Presidential Media Team, led by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, at the Government House in Lafia.
The delegation is conducting a verification tour of federal and state projects across the North-Central geopolitical zone.
Sule said the reforms had increased resources available to states by reducing government spending on fuel and foreign exchange subsidies.
According to him, the additional revenue had enabled Nasarawa to undertake infrastructure and human capital projects without obtaining bank loans.
He cited several ongoing projects, including the ₦16.7 billion Mararaba dual flyover, ₦7.1 billion Akwanga township dualisation, ₦6.6 billion Akwanga underpass and ₦5.6 billion Shendam Road dualisation.
Other projects listed by the governor include a ₦3.3 billion storm drainage channel at Amba Bridge and the ₦11.4 billion Keffi flyover.
Sule said the state had so far committed about ₦90 billion to the projects, describing the level of spending as significantly higher than what was possible before the reforms.
He recalled that in 2019, the state faced difficulties securing a ₦5 billion bond for a market project.
The governor maintained that the projects were being funded without bank borrowing and attributed the increased fiscal capacity to the reforms of the Tinubu administration.
Sule also highlighted investments in vocational education, healthcare and agriculture, including a skills acquisition centre offering training in 12 trades, a specialist hospital under construction in Akwanga and a 10,000-hectare rice farm.
Onanuga said the media team’s visit was aimed at assessing how resources made available through the federal reforms were being utilised by states.
He said Nasarawa had developed into an industrial hub under the Sule administration.
Earlier, the Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government, Labaran Magaji, SAN, welcomed the delegation and described the visit as evidence of the cooperation between the federal and state governments.
