Gov Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has signed the state’s N369 billion 2025 budget into law, 33 days after he presented it to the state House of Assembly.
Yahaya assented to the 2025 appropriation bill in Gombe on Monday in a ceremony witnessed by the speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Abubakar Luggerewo, and other top government functionaries.
Yahaya lauded the synergy between the executive and the legislative arms of the government, resulting in smooth budget processes in the state.
He said that the House’s addition to the budget would help his administration to deliver more dividends to the people of the state.
The governor said that his administration was implementing its annual budget to deliver good governance and prioritise the well-being of the people, hence the multiple awards it had been receiving.
Yahaya commended the lawmakers for providing the necessary legislative support which he said had made it easy to deliver on his administration’s mandate.
“The addition of the N50 billion is for us to capture all that we need with concerning partnering with the World Bank and other development partners.
“This will ensure that we improve on our health care, water supply, basic social amenities that are needed in order to uplift the lives and livelihoods of the people,” he said.
According to the governor, the administration will implement the budget to the letter.
The governor also signed the Bill to establish the Gombe State Disability Commission to protect the rights of People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) in the state.
He said with the signing of the bill into law, the people with special needed to have a commission to cater to their needs.
Yahaya said that the agency would focus on PLWDs needs to ensure their integration with other communities.
“I want to guarantee you, we are not just forming this law to dump. No. We will see to its implementation,” he said.
He said he had directed the provision of everything needed for the special school in the state to function effectively while also directing the establishment of an additional two in each senatorial district.
Speaking earlier, Mr Mohammed Luggerrewo, Speaker of the state’s house of assembly commended the governor for delivering on his mandate to the people.
Luggerrewo said that the budget when it was presented to the House on Nov. 19, the lawmakers immediately began work toward ensuring speedy and thorough legislative scrutiny.
He explained that after duly examining the budget, the house felt there was a need to increase the budget by N49 billion to enable the state government to carry out more projects to the benefit of the people.
“That’s why we increased the budget from N320 billion presented to us to N369 billion,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman, Gombe State chapter of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Dr Ishaku Adamu, thanked the governor for signing the bill to protect the rights of PLWDs in the state.
Adamu said the law would enable more development partners to bring their resources into the state toward improving the well-being of persons with disabilities.
One of the highlights of the event was the appointment of Adamu by the governor as the Executive Secretary of the newly established Disability Commission. (NAN)
