No N19.3bn For Kitchen Equipment: Zamfara Government Responds To Budget Allegations

The Zamfara State Government has refuted the claim that it budgeted N19.3 billion for purchasing kitchen equipment in 2024, stating that fake news is intended to mislead the public.

On Tuesday, an online platform (not the PUNCH))  reported that a review of the Zamfara State budget performance document showed that the state budgeted the quoted amount to purchase kitchen and canteen equipment for the 2024 fiscal year.

In a response during a press briefing in Gusau, the the state capital, the state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mallam Abdulmalik Gajam, expressed disappointment in the misleading report.

Gajam provided details of the breakdown of the N19.3 billion budgeted for projects under the Ministry of Education.

He said, “The news platform that peddled the fake news pushed half-baked statistics, omitting the vital information from the complete budget performance document.”

“The breakdown of 19.3 billion was budgeted under the Ministry of Education, and it is under the category of capital expenditure.

“The name canteen & kitchen is a fixed asset purchase the coded name of a particular category of multiple expenditures which contain a provision on the agile program, construction of zonal primary schools, provision of smart primary school in Gusau, procurement of kitchen utensil for all government school for 40 million naira, construction of teachers training centre and creation of teachers development funding scheme.

“All this put together is what constituted 19.3 billion.”

The commissioner further stressed that Governor Daudu Lawal’s administration came to reduce the abuse of public funds and block leakages.