…North’s fiscal position stronger under Tinubu

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has said the North has been more favoured than other parts of the country with regard to Federal Government’s financial allocations under President Bola Tinubu.

Bagudu, who spoke yesterday in Kaduna during a presentation to the Sir Amadu Bello Memorial Foundation, which organised a two-day interactive session on Government-Citizen Engagement with the theme, ‘Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government Citizen Engagement for National Unity,’ also revealed that the allocations to states and local government councils since 2023 had risen by 116.17 per cent to N991.81 billion.

According to him, Tinubu’s reforms led to significant revenue growth for subnational governments, pointing out that between May 2023 and June 2025, total net statutory revenue and VAT allocation to states and local governments (excluding EMT levy, FX gains, and augmentations) more than doubled, rising from N458.81 billion to N991.81 billion.

“This reflects an increase of N533 billion or 116.17 per cent across the federation,” he said. According to the minister responsible for budgeting and economic planning, this significant increase in allocation was mainly due to the Federal Government’s bold reforms, including the removal of the fuel subsidy.

The engagement, which commenced on Tuesday, was attended by over 60 Northern federal political appointees, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who led the delegation, ministers and heads of some ministries, departments and agencies; Northern state governors, and thought leaders in the region, particularly the Arewa Consultative Forum.

The Foundation’s engagement was to evaluate Tinubu’s election promises to its members, attracting key Northern ministers, including Bagudu, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris; the Minister of Defence, Mr Mohammed Badaru; and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, as well as the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

He stated that the president’s bold economic reforms had increased revenue for the states, even as their debts had fallen, freeing up more resources for social and infrastructural development.

Bagudu stated that this situation had greatly benefited the 19 northern states, whose federally allocated revenue had increased significantly since Tinubu took office on 29 May 2023.

He stated that, although the reforms caused some short-term pains, the fiscal space created allowed for direct transfers of more oil revenues to the Federation Account, thereby increasing statutory allocations to subnational governments.

He said: “By ending the fuel subsidy, President Tinubu made a hard but necessary call—liberating trillions of naira to expand federal allocations by over 340 per cent. States now have the means to invest in their future.”

Bagudu stated that while every state in the federation recorded significant increases in monthly allocations, the Northern states received a substantial raise. He cited Gombe State, which he stated had the sharpest rise, from N6.69 billion in May 2023 to N24.91 billion in 2025, amounting to a 272.35 per cent increase.