By Ada Samson, Abuja
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has said that the fiscal position of Northern states has significantly improved under President Bola Tinubu, following sweeping economic reforms that have reduced the region’s domestic debt by 42.06 per cent.
Bagudu’s remarks were contained in a statement issued by the ministry on Wednesday, following his presentation to the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation at a two-day interactive session on government-citizen engagement held in Kaduna.
The event, themed “Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government-Citizen Engagement for National Unity,” was organised to assess the implementation of promises made by Tinubu to Northern stakeholders during the 2023 election campaign.
According to the statement, the economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy, have led to a sharp increase in federally allocated revenue and a corresponding decline in state debt.
In terms of debt reduction, the statement noted that the total domestic debt of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory declined by 33.4 per cent from N5.8tn to N3.8tn. For the 19 Northern states, the drop was even more pronounced, falling from N1.98tn to N1.14tn, amounting to a 42.06 per cent reduction.
The statement read, “He explained that the debt portfolio of the 36 states and Abuja was reduced by 33.4 per cent from N5.8tn to N3.8tn under the President’s deft financial engineering. Isolating the North’s share of this, the minister noted that the region’s 19 states experienced a 42.06 per cent reduction, from N1.98tn to N1.14tn.”
The minister explained that between May 2023 and June 2025, net statutory revenue and value-added tax allocations to states and local governments more than doubled from N458.81bn to N991.81bn, representing a N533bn or 116.17 per cent increase.
He noted that this increase excluded foreign exchange gains, EMT levies, and other augmentation payments. Bagudu attributed the revenue growth to the administration’s decision to end fuel subsidy payments, which freed up trillions of naira for redistribution through the Federation Account.
He said the expansion in federal allocations had exceeded 340 per cent since the reform was implemented. The minister noted that all states across the country recorded revenue increases, but the Northern region saw some of the most significant gains.
He noted that Gombe State’s allocation rose from N6.69bn in May 2023 to N24.91bn in 2025, representing a 272.35 per cent jump. Kaduna State’s allocation increased from N11.94bn to N42.01bn, a rise of N30.07bn or 251.84 per cent, the minister added.
Regionally, the North Central recorded a 145 per cent increase, the North East 149 per cent, and the North West 143 per cent. Bagudu was quoted as saying that the reforms had given state governments the fiscal room to invest in infrastructure and social development without resorting to unsustainable borrowing.
He described this as evidence that the Tinubu administration’s macro-fiscal reforms were yielding tangible benefits across the federation. The minister also said the administration remained committed to fiscal transparency, equitable revenue distribution, and continued collaboration with state and local governments.
He highlighted several major infrastructure and health projects being executed across the North as part of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. These include the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, the dualisation of the Kano-Maiduguri Road, the Sokoto-Gusau-Funtua-Zaria Highway, the Abuja-Keffi-Makurdi Road, the Ilorin-Jebba-Minna Road, the Abuja-Lokoja Road, the Kano-Katsina Road dualisation, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, and the AKK Gas Pipeline.
He also mentioned ongoing work on the Kaduna-Kano Railway, as well as light rail projects in Kaduna, Kano, and the Federal Capital Territory.
On healthcare, Bagudu stated that over 1,003 primary healthcare centres had been revitalised nationwide, with 10 upgraded national medical warehouses located in the North. He cited ongoing improvements at federal teaching hospitals and medical centres in Katsina, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Zaria, Adamawa, Kebbi, Taraba, and Kano.
Under the MAMII programme, he added, the North recorded 13.1 million antenatal visits, 4.2 million safe deliveries, 4,000 free Caesarean sections, and over six million women received nutritional support. Describing these efforts as health justice, Bagudu said the administration’s approach to development was deliberate and inclusive.
While addressing concerns among some Northern leaders about regional balance, the minister insisted that Tinubu had ensured the equitable distribution of federal projects across all regions of the country. He said the administration’s strategic focus on economic, social, and governance reforms was designed to promote inclusive growth and national cohesion.
The statement concluded, “While some Northern leaders believed the region had not been treated fairly, 19 governors and federal political appointees held a different view, supported by facts and data about the president’s programmes in the area.”
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