By Abbas Bamalli
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), has demanded increased funding to Social Protection (SP) related Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Katsina State to address poverty.
This is part of the coalition’s position paper presented to the state’s House of Assembly at the Public Hearing for the 2025 proposed budget of N682.2b presented by Gov. Dikko Radda.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the paper was presented by the state Chairman of the coalition, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdullahi.
According to the paper presented by the coalition, insecurity and the present day economic situation have made millions of people poorer in the state.
“Many people have lost their source of livelihood to insecurity and the poor economic situation with businesses collapsing on a daily basis.
“Hunger is everywhere in the state and the country at large. Nigerians are no longer talking about three square meals. People are struggling daily to afford a meal per day.
“This situation calls for increased funding for social protection programmes in the state.
“It is on this background that the Coalition wishes to call on the attention of the house to appropriate adequate funds for the social protection component of the 2025 budget in order to bring succour to the people of Katsina State.”
It also urged the assembly to initiate a process through which synergy can be enhanced between the state government and National Assembly Members on more intervention for the poor and vulnerable in the state.
“And also centralisation of some overhead components to the office of the Head of Civil Service, like stationeries, vehicle maintenance, among others is causing so much administrative bottlenecks in the MDAs.
“Hence, there is a need for the house to look into this issue with the view to addressing the challenges faced by MDAs in implementing their activities.”
The presentation by Abdullahi, which urged for effective oversight by lawmakers, added that effective implementation of the 2025 budget would make things better for the state in almost all spheres.
“We therefore plead with the house of assembly to ensure that the provisions of the budget are judiciously implemented for the betterment of Katsina State.”
NAN reports that the Kano Field office of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) conducting interventions in the state has been supporting the state towards ensuring improved allocation of funds to the SP related sectors.
NAN