Gombe Okays 2026 Budget For Presentation Thursday
The Gombe State Executive Council, at its 50th meeting, has ratified the 2026 budget for presentation to the state House of Assembly.
Disclosing this on Monday at the Gombe Arena shortly after the SEC meeting, the state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salihu Alkali, said the ratification followed due process and laid-down procedures.
According to him, the state government had earlier organised a stakeholders’ engagement meeting where inputs from residents were collated to guide the formulation of the 2026 budget.
Alkali said, “Earlier this year, we conducted what is called a citizens’ engagement consultation to ensure that residents’ inputs were captured in the budget.
“Today, after deliberations and observations from council members, the draft budget was approved at the SEC meeting for onward transmission to the House of Assembly.”
He added that Governor Muhammadu Yahaya will present the 2026 appropriation bill to the House on Thursday for further consideration and breakdown.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, said the ministry presented a memo for the establishment of a Primary Healthcare Leadership Steering Committee across the 11 local government areas and 13 local council development areas of the state.
According to Dahiru, the initiative aligns with the state government’s efforts to sustain gains in the health sector.
“The Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge Steering Committee will further enhance our chances in national and international competitions. It will also strengthen evaluation and monitoring activities,” he added.
Gombe State has in recent years adopted a more participatory approach to budgeting, including the launch of citizens’ engagement forums and a shift towards programme-based budgeting.
Vanguard reported that in 2023 that Gombe State’s budget was originally approved at about ₦176.55 billion, with recurrent expenditures at ₦76.55 billion and capital expenditures at ₦99.46 billion.
The approved 2024 budget stood at approximately ₦208.064 billion, with 58 % allotted for capital projects and 42 % for recurrent costs—marking a shift in emphasis toward infrastructure and consolidation.