Tag: Aminu Masari

Masari weeps as he presents final budget

Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Tuesday wept while presenting the final budget of his administration to the state House Assembly.

The government proposed over N288.63 billion as the state’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year.

The proposal tagged, ‘Budget of Transition’, earmarked 63.77% as capital expenditure and 36.23% for recurrent services.

Masari said, “In aggregate terms, the 2023 budget is lower than that of the 2022 revised budget by N34, 662, 962, 998.00.

“The 2023 budget is structured with a total recurrent expenditure of N104,580,485,996.28, which is equivalent to 36.23 per cent of the total budget.

“And capital expenditure of N184,052,771,966.72, which is 63.77 per cent of the total budget.”

He said the budget would be financed from the Opening Balance of N12.06 billion, N62.59 billion Internally Generated Revenue, and over N119 billion expected from the Federation Account.

“It is important to note that the 2023 recurrent revenue has increased by 7.33% over that of the 2022 revised budget.

“And the capital expenditure in the 2023 budget has decreased by 20.92% due to a drop in capital receipts.”

He explained that N138.163 billion of the capital estimates would finance projects under the government restoration plan.

The governor said that the plan was in the area of Education, Health, Water Resources, Agriculture, Environment, Works, Housing and Transport sectors.

“As a result, therefore, the 2023 budget has provided adequate allocation of funds to the priority sectors of the state government (Capital) as follows:

“Environment N31,748,186,500.00, Water Resources N29,207,394,335.00, Health N23,974,614,962.00, Works N20,995,858,882.00, Education N18,632,987,897.00, and Agriculture N13,604,292,049.00.”

He said that other MDAs were allocated N45.88 billion.

The governor believed that his administration has done well “within the available resources to uplift the living standard of the people.

“I am sure posterity will judge our government on the meaningful projects, programmes and policies implemented during its tenure as government of Katsina state.”

The Speaker of the assembly, Alhaji Tasiu Maigari assured that the assembly would speed up the approval of the budget.

22/11/2022
Masari condemns recurring killings by customs’ operatives in Katsina

Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State has condemned the recurring killings of innocent citizens through reckless driving by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in the state.

In a statement by Malam Abdu Labaran, Director-General, Media and Publicity to Masari and made available the News Agency of Nigeria ((NAN) in Katsina on Friday, Masari said he would no longer condone such senseless killings.

NAN reports that the governor’s warning came in the wake of the recent death of eight people, who were crushed by operatives of the NCS driving recklessly in pursuit of suspected smugglers in Jibia Local Government on Aug. 9.

Masari extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and those who sustained injuries, warning that the government would no longer fold its arms and watch law-abiding citizens killed by government agents who were supposed to be protecting them.

“The state government is considering legal action against the NCS, to serve as a deterrent against future occurrences of the fatal incident” Masari said.

14/08/2021
Masari speaks on retiring from politics after tenure as governor

Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State says he will retire from active politics after his tenure as Governor.

Masari stated this while briefing newsmen as part of activities to mark the nation’s Democracy Day in Katsina on Saturday.

He explained that he would retire to his farm after his tenure as Governor of the state.

“I have held various positions from Commissioner in Katsina State to the National Assembly where I served as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“I am still serving my people as the Governor of Katsina State. Therefore, what else am I looking for, again.

“My people from Katsina, like the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua, contested for President and won, Muhammadu Buhari the same thing, he even served as military Head of State.

“I think it is better we leave the stage for other people from other places,” he said.

According to him, his main concern now is how to fulfil his Restoration Agenda, which is to rehabilitate all the decayed infrastructure and bring back the past glories of the state.

“After I have satisfactorily succeeded in doing that, I will retire to my farm,” the governor said.

13/06/2021
Gov. Masari inaugurates N1.4bn new Zamfara Assembly complex

Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Wednesday inaugurated the new ultra modern Zamfara State House of Assembly complex constructed at the cost of over N1.4 billion.

The new edifice comprises administrative block, House Chamber, committee rooms, restaurant, filling station, clinic, mosque and perimeter fence.

Masari who was the special guest for the event held in Gusau, urged people of Zamfara to rally round the state administration for more development projects.

He also urged people in the North West to contribute to ending the security challenges in the region.

“The threats posed by insecurity in our region requires all hands to be on deck, because both Hausa and Fulani speakers are strongly related.

“If we don’t come together to live in peace and harmony, we will end up destroying our homes and communities ourselves,” Masari cautioned.

He assured that governors in the zone would continue to evolve ways of addressing security issues, until peace is achieved.

In his speech, Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara said the state assembly complex was initiated and executed by his administration at the cost of N1.4 billion.

“With these structures put in place, our honourable members of the State House of Assembly would be able to operate in a serene environment, with all the facilities they require.

“I would like to assure our honourable members of the State Assembly of my administration’s support towards the effective discharge of your functions at all times.

“I appreciate the cordial relations between you and the executive arm since my coming on board two years ago. This cordiality is largely responsible for the appreciable successes we have recorded so far.

“However, notwithstanding the friendly atmosphere, I wish to call on you to redouble your efforts to come up with effective legislations to further improve our people’s wellbeing,” Matawalle said.

Earlier, the Speaker of Zamfara assembly, Alhaji Nasiru Magarya, who commended the governor for providing the facility, pledged to work with the executive for the benefit of the people.

Magarya said in the last two years, the assembly had passed 25 Bills into law, while 13 others were being worked on.

The speaker appealed to the Federal Government to strenghten efforts at addressing the security challenges in the country.

10/06/2021
Why Nigeria is attractive to bandits, kidnappers — Gov Masari

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has said Nigeria is economically attractive to kidnappers and bandtry in the Sahel region of Africa.

Masari explained that kidnappers find Nigeria attractive because the country is the richest country in the Sahel region of Africa.

He spoke during his appearance on Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today.

The governor stressed that banditry and kidnapping pays more in Nigeria than other countries of the Sahel region.

Masari said: “There are kidnappers, there are bandits around but look at the whole world and look at the position of Nigeria in the Sahelian region. Are we not the richest? So, the attraction even for kidnappers to come to Nigeria is there.

“If you kidnap somebody in Mali, where are you going to get thousands? If I kidnap you in Nigeria, I get millions. So, all of us will have to rise to the occasion.

“In my state, the bandits kidnapped four relatives of very senior government officials. When they cannot get anything to sustain themselves, they resort to high-profile kidnappings for money in cities and towns. That is something we must work hard to stop.”

Banditry and kidnapping have worsened in the North, with students and residents being their target.

Zamfara, Niger, Kebbi and Kaduna States have been the most affected by banditry, while other regions of Nigeria have also experienced kidnapping.

19/03/2021