FG, states vote N900bn for ward development programme

The federal and state governments have voted N900bn from the federation account to the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP), documents from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) have shown. The documents which were produced by FAAC’s Postmortem Sub-Committee showed the RHDP first appeared on the ‘Summary of Balances in the Special Accounts’ in August […]

The federal and state governments have voted N900bn from the federation account to the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP), documents from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) have shown.

The documents which were produced by FAAC’s Postmortem Sub-Committee showed the RHDP first appeared on the ‘Summary of Balances in the Special Accounts’ in August with N300bn voted for the programme.

The money further increased to N700bn in September as another N400bn was voted and another N200bn in October, totaling N900bn.

Daily Trust reports that when the sub-committee sits in a month, it discusses the federation account for two previous months.

This means that sitting for November would look into the finances of September and December sitting would look into the finances of October.

But another document by the Federation Account Department, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, stated that it received the first tranche of the fund, N300bn, on September 17.

The second tranche of N400bn was received on October 25 while the third tranche of N200bn was received on November 18.

A breakdown indicates that N102,168,237 (million) will go to each of the 8,809 wards if it is shared equally.

 

What states might get

A breakdown by region showed that the North West will take 23 per cent of the money totaling N204,642,978,771.71 followed by the South West with 18 per cent, amounting to N157,849,926,211.83; South-South, 16 per cent with N144,363,718,923.83.

The North Central, inclusive of Abuja, will get 16 percent, N142,524,690,657.28 (billion) with the South East receiving 14 per cent, N127,608,128,050.86 and the North East getting 14 per cent amounting to N123,010,557,384.49.

Analysis by states showed that Kano will receive the highest intervention through its 484 wards that would see the state receiving N49,449,426,722.67 followed by Katsina with 361 wards entitling it to N36,882,733,567.94.

Oyo State is next with 351 wards and would receive N35,861,051,197.64 followed by Osun State with 332 wards getting N33,919,854,694.06.

Akwa Ibom with 328 wards will get N33,511,181,745=.94 while Anambra State with 327 wards will get N33,409,013,508.91 and Rivers State with 319 wards will receive N32,591,667,612.67.

Borno State with 311 wards will also get N31,774,321,716.43 (billion) with Imo State receiving N31,161,312,294.24 for its 305 wards and Jigawa State will get N29,322,284,027.70 for its 287 wards.

Benue State with 274 wards will get N27,994,096,946.30 while Niger State with N274 wards will get N27,994,096,946.30  with Delta State collecting N27,585,423,998.18 (billion) for its 270 wards.

Enugu State will receive N26,563,741,627.88 through its 260 wards while Kaduna State will N26,155,068,679.76 from its 256 wards and Lagos State through its 245 wards, will get N25,031,218,072.43.

Sokoto State with 244 wards will receive N24,929,049,835.40 (wards) while Kogi State with 239 wards will get N24,418,208,650.24 and Ogun State with 236 wards will get N24,111,703,939.15.

For Adamawa State with 225 wards, it will get N22,987,853,331.82 and Kebbi State with 225 wards will receive N22,987,853,331.82 while Bauchi State with 212 wards will get N21,659,666,250.43.

Also, Plateau State with 206 wards will receive N21,046,656,828.24 with Ondo State though its 203 wards will be getting N20,740,152,117.15.

Cross River State has 196 wards and will get N20,024,974,457.94 while Edo State with 195 wards will receive N19,922,806,220.91 and Kwara State with 193 wards will get N19,718,469,746.85.

Abia State with 184 wards will receive N18,798,955,613.58 while Ekiti State with 178 wards will get N18,185,946,191.40 (billion) and Yobe State with 178 wards will get N18,185,946,191.40.

For Ebonyi State, its 173 wards will make it entitled to N17,675,105,006.24 while Taraba State with 168 wards will get N17,164,263,821.09 and Nasarawa State with 147 wards will get N15,018,730,843.46.

Zamfara State with 146 wards will receive N14,916,562,606.43  while Gombe State with 110 wards will get N11,238,506,073.33 with Bayelsa State through its 105 wards receiving N10,727,664,888.18 and Abuja with 62 wards get N6,334,430,695.88.

 

Why RHWDP was launched

It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had in July approved a ward-level development strategy designed to drive grassroots economic growth and address poverty across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards.

The programme was adopted during the 150th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), at the State House in Abuja.

He said the programme forms part of the broader Renewed Hope Agenda, which targets a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

Speaking at the NEC meeting, Tinubu urged state governors to prioritise the welfare of citizens at the local level.

“I want to appeal to you; let us change the story of our people in the rural areas. The economy is working. We are on the path of recovery, but we need to stimulate growth in the rural areas,” he said.

The RHWDP aims to serve as a coordinated intervention framework focused on poverty alleviation, food security, rural infrastructure, power supply, and job creation and the strategy sets minimum thresholds for economic activities—1,000 in smaller wards and 2,000 in larger ones—with oversight by a National Steering Committee and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning acting as secretariat.

The initiative was presented to the Council by Budget and Economic Planning Minister Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who said it would involve the three tiers of government in implementation.

To support execution, Tinubu directed that the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation be moved to the presidency and called for the expansion of the national school feeding programme to increase enrolment and reduce child poverty.

Citing the 1999 Constitution and the Fifth Alteration Act, he said the programme draws legal authority from national policy directives aimed at improving productivity President Tinubu established the RHWDP to coordinate his efforts to accelerate economic activities, enhance livelihoods, and strengthen social protection at the grassroots level.

Thereafter, the president appointed the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, as Chairman of the National Steering Committee of RHWDP.

According to a statement from the NGF Secretariat, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, will serve as vice chairman of the committee.

Other members were appointed to represent the six geopolitical zones as follows: North-East: Governor Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), South-South: Governor Douye Diri (Bayelsa), South-West: Governor Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), South-East: Governor Peter Mbah (Enugu), North-West: Governor Dikko Radda (Katsina) and North-Central: Governor Hyacinth Alia (Benue).