Six months into 2025, Kano spends less than 20% of its capital budget in key sectors

By Aminu Abubakar

Six months into the 2025 fiscal year, Kano State’s capital budget performance across major ministries shows low levels of implementation, with several sectors spending less than one-fifth of their approved allocations.

A review of government data covering January to June 2025 indicates that the Ministry of Works and Housing, which has the largest capital budget for the year, recorded an expenditure of ₦33.9 billion out of a total allocation of ₦98.3 billion. This represents a performance rate of 34.5 percent for the first two quarters of the year.

The Ministry of Land and Physical Planning followed with a capital budget of ₦27.7 billion and actual spending of ₦17.9 billion, equivalent to 64.6 percent implementation. This makes it the top-performing ministry among those reviewed.

In contrast, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources had a total capital allocation of ₦18.4 billion, but only ₦940.6 million was spent within the first nine months. This translates to 5.1 percent performance.

The Ministry of Rural and Community Development recorded a capital budget of ₦14.9 billion for 2025 and an actual expenditure of ₦1.396 billion by the end of June, representing 9.4 percent implementation.

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The Ministry of Transport, with a full-year capital budget of ₦9.557 billion, showed no recorded expenditure as of the end of the second quarter, indicating a zero-percent performance.

For the education sector, the Ministry of Education, which manages primary and secondary education, was allocated ₦70.6 billion in capital spending for the year. Between January and June, it utilized ₦15.9 billion, representing 22.5 percent of the total.

The Ministry of Higher Education, responsible for tertiary institutions, had a budget of ₦37.4 billion but recorded only ₦1.8 billion in actual spending, translating to 4.8 percent implementation.

In the health sector, the Ministry of Health had a total capital allocation of ₦65.7 billion for 2025. Expenditure as of June stood at ₦3.031 billion, giving a performance rate of 4.6 percent.

The Ministry of Water Resources had a capital budget of ₦14.4 billion, with ₦2.7 billion spent within the first nine months of the year — a budget performance of 18.8 percent.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change recorded ₦3.342 billion in actual spending out of ₦12.4 billion budgeted, resulting in 26.9 percent performance.

Data across the ten key ministries reviewed indicate that average capital budget implementation stands at about 19 percent as of the end of September 2025. This means that less than one-fifth of the approved capital funds for the fiscal year had been utilized in the first nine months.

A breakdown of the spending pattern shows that infrastructure-related ministries, particularly Works and Housing and Land and Physical Planning, have relatively higher implementation rates compared with social service ministries such as Health, Education, and Agriculture.

While the Ministry of Works and Housing spent over ₦33 billion, the combined spending of the Agriculture, Health, Higher Education, and Rural Development ministries together amounts to less than ₦7 billion, despite their total combined allocation exceeding ₦136 billion.

Among the ministries reviewed, only Land and Physical Planning exceeded 50 percent implementation, while Transport recorded no capital expenditure. Four other ministries — Health, Agriculture, Higher Education, and Rural Development — had single-digit performance rates below 10 percent.

In monetary terms, the total capital allocation for the ten ministries amounts to approximately ₦369 billion, while total actual expenditure within the first three quarters sums up to around ₦80.9 billion.

This leaves a balance of roughly ₦288 billion in unspent capital funds as of June 2025.

A quarter-by-quarter comparison shows that spending across most ministries remained modest through the first and second quarters and did not significantly accelerate in the third quarter, indicating limited project execution within the period under review.

Capital releases during the nine-month period were concentrated in infrastructure and land development projects, while other sectors, such as health, education, and agriculture, received minimal disbursements.

Budget implementation data further indicate that the Ministry of Works and Housing alone accounted for more than 40 percent of all capital spending among the ministries covered, while Land and Physical Planning accounted for another 22 percent. Together, the two ministries made up nearly two-thirds of all recorded capital expenditure between January and September.

The remaining eight ministries collectively accounted for less than ₦30 billion in actual capital expenditure during the same period.

Sectoral performance data show that social-service ministries lagged behind, with average implementation in education, health, and agriculture below 15 percent. Economic and physical development sectors performed slightly better, averaging 33 percent implementation across Works and Housing, Land and Physical Planning, and Environment and Climate Change.

As of the end of June, the implementation shortfall means that a significant portion of Kano State’s capital projects for 2025 were yet to commence or reach advanced stages. With only one quarter left in the fiscal year, a large share of the state’s infrastructure, social service, and development budgets remained unutilized.

If spending rates remain unchanged, Kano may close the year with a substantial rollover of capital funds into 2026.

The situation could have far-reaching implications for development outcomes. With low capital spending in agriculture, health, and education — three sectors directly linked to social welfare — the government’s ability to deliver improved services and infrastructure may be undermined.

In the agricultural sector, poor budget utilization could limit investments in irrigation, farm inputs, and value chain development, all of which are essential for food security and rural employment. Similarly, the education and health sectors risk stalling key projects such as school rehabilitation, hospital construction, and equipment upgrades.

On the infrastructure front, the relatively better performance of the Ministries of Works and Land suggests that the state is prioritizing physical development and urban renewal projects. However, even these areas fall short of optimal levels, suggesting that implementation is proceeding slower than planned.

Observers have called on the state government to expedite budget releases and strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure that capital projects are executed in line with allocations. “Budget performance is a reflection of governance effectiveness,” one civic group noted. “When capital budgets are not implemented, it means fewer roads, fewer schools, and weaker health services — all of which affect citizens directly.”

As the year draws to a close, the low level of capital budget utilization across key Kano ministries may lead to significant unspent funds or project rollovers into the 2026 fiscal year. Unless urgent steps are taken to improve implementation rates in the last quarter, the state could fall short of its development and infrastructure targets for 2025.