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Again: 44 LGs fail to stop Gov Yusuf from spending funds
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has further declined an application seeking to bar Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, from disbursing or spending funds and allocations belonging to the 44 Local Government Areas of the state.
KANO FOCUS reports that the court had on Friday refused to stop Yusuf from disbursing funds belonging to the local government councils.
The ex-parte motion was filed by the 44 local government councils and the Kano State chapter of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) on December 27.
The suit was instituted against the Kano State government, the Kano State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the Accountant General of Kano.
The plaintiffs requested an interim injunction while alleging the governor planned tampering with funds meant for the LGAs.
The local government chairmen, who are largely from the All Progressives Congress(APC), accused the governor of disbursing LGA funds without their knowledge.
“An order of this Honourable Court restraining the Defendants/Respondents,whether by themselves, their officers, servants, agents, privies, cronies or representatives by whatever name known or called, from controling, managing, further administering, disbursing and spending the funds and allocations belonging to the forty- four (44) Local Government Areas of Kano State in the Kano State Joint Local Account, pending the determination of the Plaintiffs Applicants,” the applicants prayed in one of its reliefs.
In the alternative, the applicants asked the court to stop the Kano State government from tampering with the funds and allocations belonging to the forty four (44) LGAs.
But in his ruling on the ex parte motion, Justice Donatus Okorowo rather ordered the defendants to appear before him on Wednesday and show cause why the interim restraining orders should not be granted.
The judge also ordered that the processes be served on the defendants by substituted means.
At the resumed proceedings on Wednesday, the plaintiff’s counsel, Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa said pursuant to the order of court, the defendants were directed to show cause why the interim order should not be granted today.
Nasarawa submitted that in line with Order 26 rule 11 of the Federal High Court Rules, the defendants had three days to show cause after service but have not done so.
He humbly urged the court to restrain the Kano state government pending the determination of his case.
For Afeez Matanmi, counsel for the first and second respondent, he told the court he was briefed yesterday by his client and has entered a memorandum of conditional appearance today while serving it on the plaintiff’s counsel this morning.
He explained he also filed to the registrar of the court for the certified true copies of all the processes in the matter.
He said there is no way he can show cause without seeing all the processes including the motion on notice as well as the orders.
“The rules of the court did not specify the number of days to show cause and in this circumstance, the court can extend time for us and adjourn the proceedings,” Mantami said.
Mantami added that upon receiving the processes and showing cause, the Kano State government was capable of refunding the LGAs in dispute if the case goes against them in the end.
Moreso, he contended that even if he had three days to show cause, his clients were still within time to respond due to the public holidays.
Counsels for plaintiff and the third respondent, Okechukwu Edeze confirmed they were served with the memo for conditional appearance this morning.
Edeze aligned with the arguments of the Kano state government counsel and sought for a further adjournment in the interest of fair hearing saying he was briefed less than 24 hours ago.
“I have not seen the processes of this court. Only God knows the truth,” Edaeze said.
Nasarawa countered them, insisting they have been duly served.
He argued that they were expected to give account of the processes having been served by substituted means.
“If they chose not to (show cause), it is to their detriment,” Nasarawa said.
After hearing counsels, Justice Okorowo held that records showed that the defendants were duly served with the processes on December 29, 2023 and the memorandum of conditional appearance by the respondents suggests they planned challenging the suit.
The judge, however, observed that the three-day time frame outlined for the defendants to respond was affected by public holidays.
“The respondents have shown that their time is still running (due to the public holidays), adding “With this in view, it will serve the interest of justice to extend” the orders he had earlier made.
“Respondents are given seven days to show cause why the orders sought in reliefs 5 to 7 should not be made absolute,” the judge said.
The court then adjourned to January 11 for the Kano state government to show cause.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government says it has executed 1,508 development projects worth more than N928 billion across the state’s 44 local government areas since Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf assumed office, with about 80 per cent of constituency projects awarded between 2023 and 2025 already completed.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Comrade Nura Iro Ma’aji Sumaila, disclosed this during an international press briefing on the administration’s infrastructure development programme.
According to Comrade Sumaila, the projects cover critical sectors including roads, urban renewal, education, healthcare, security and other social infrastructure.
He said 799 of the projects have been completed, while 709 are at various stages of execution. He added that the state is also implementing 619 constituency projects through members of the Kano State House of Assembly.
The commissioner noted that about 80 per cent of the constituency projects have been completed. However, he said some projects remain unfinished because of rising construction costs caused by inflation.
He said the government has submitted a request to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for an upward review of contract sums to enable contractors complete the affected projects.
Breakdown of projects
Comrade Sumaila said the administration spent over N169 billion on urban renewal projects, including road rehabilitation, drainage construction and other metropolitan infrastructure.
He said another N118 billion was committed to constructing five-kilometre roads in 38 local government areas to improve connectivity across the state.
According to him, the government also awarded contracts worth over N6.8 billion for the construction of Kano State Neighbourhood Watch security divisions in 36 local government areas.
He added that rural infrastructure projects covering education, healthcare and other social interventions across the 44 local government areas account for contracts valued at more than N397 billion, while other ongoing projects have a combined value of about N255 billion.
Commitment to transparency
The commissioner said the Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation would continue to ensure compliance with due process and technical standards in the execution of government projects.
He said the ministry’s mandate includes monitoring projects to ensure value for money and prudent utilisation of public resources.
According to him, the administration’s investments in infrastructure are intended to improve mobility, strengthen security, expand access to education and healthcare, improve water supply and stimulate economic growth across the state.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, according to the latest Sub-National Education Spending Index developed by the University of Paris.
KANO FOCUS reports that the ranking places Kano State first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across 15 ECOWAS member countries, underscoring the state’s growing reputation for prioritising investment in education.
According to the published index, Kano topped the rankings with an overall S-WAESI score of 87.21, outperforming other leading regions, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal. Lagos State was the second Nigerian state on the list, ranking 16th overall.
The assessment evaluated states and regions using the S-WAESI (Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index) methodology, which measures government commitment to education through indicators such as actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
The methodology assigns 35 points to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, 10 points to education priority and 10 points to transparency.
The report indicated that Kano excelled largely due to its strong actual education spending and budget execution, making it the best-performing sub-national government in the region.
The ranking covered states, regions, districts and municipalities across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) said the recognition reflects Kano State Government’s sustained investment in expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure and strengthening educational planning and budget implementation.
KANO FOCUS reports that the achievement is expected to further boost the state’s profile as a leader in education reform within West Africa and provide additional momentum for ongoing efforts to improve learning outcomes across the state.
The latest ranking comes amid renewed attention on education financing across ECOWAS, with experts increasingly emphasising transparent budgeting, efficient resource utilisation and sustained public investment as critical drivers of quality education.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after qualifying for a total of $3.5 million in performance-based incentives for implementing key governance, education and healthcare reforms.
KANO FOCUS reports that the World Bank, through the HOPE Governance Programme domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved $27 million in incentives for states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced the incentives on Tuesday in Abuja during a retreat attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah, said the incentives were based on the recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed states’ performance against agreed reform indicators.
Kano ranked among the highest-performing states, qualifying for incentives under three separate reform indicators.
The state will receive $1.5 million under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for the state basic education budget.
It also qualified for another $1.5 million under DLR 2.2, which recognises states that adopted comprehensive guidelines for consolidated work plans for state primary healthcare budgets.
In addition, Kano secured $500,000 under DLR 2.3 for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.
Altogether, the state is expected to receive $3.5 million, making it one of the top-performing states under the programme.
Only five states—Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe—qualified for both the education and healthcare planning incentives, earning $3 million each from the two indicators alone.
Kano further distinguished itself by qualifying under the local government budgeting reform indicator, increasing its total allocation to $3.5 million.
The state also featured among 15 states that met the requirements under DLR 4.1, which rewards states for publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2025. Each qualifying state under this indicator will receive $500,000.
Other states that qualified under DLR 4.1 are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe.
According to the programme, the performance-based incentives are designed to encourage states to strengthen governance systems, improve budget transparency and enhance planning in the education and primary healthcare sectors.
KANO FOCUS reports that the HOPE Governance Programme is a World Bank-supported initiative implemented through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to promote improved public financial management and better service delivery across Nigeria’s states.
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