Ahmed ILALLAH
The Exceptional Leadership and Integrity Promotion Initiative (ELIP Initiative) has organised a town hall meeting for citizens across the eight Local Government Areas of Jigawa Northeast Senatorial District to generate citizens’ inputs for possible inclusion in the state’s 2027 budget.
The meeting, held at the Conference Hall of the School for the Deaf and Hearing Impairment in Hadejia, brought together Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), community leaders, religious leaders and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) from across the senatorial district.
The annual programme, organised by ELIP Initiative in collaboration with the Jigawa State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, is designed to promote citizens’ participation in the state budget process and provide a platform for communities to identify and propose projects that address their most pressing development needs.
Speaking at the meeting, the Executive Director of ELIP Initiative, Isa Mustapha Babura, the Sa’in Babura, urged participants to make well-considered and evidence-based demands that would have a meaningful impact on the lives of citizens.
He encouraged community representatives to prioritise projects that directly respond to the needs of their respective communities, stressing the importance of ensuring that public resources are channelled towards interventions with tangible developmental outcomes.
The Director of Budget in the Jigawa State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Auwal Mohammed Bello, provided participants with a detailed explanation of the state budget, including the various stages and processes involved in budget preparation and implementation.
Similarly, the Director of ICT in the Ministry, Labaran Salisu Kanya, explained the nature and process of submitting citizens’ inputs into the state budget, equipping participants with the necessary knowledge to effectively articulate and submit their community priorities.
The participants actively engaged in the discussions and expressed their views on a wide range of development projects and interventions they considered critical to their communities.
They subsequently presented various proposals and appealed to the relevant authorities to consider their priorities for possible inclusion in the 2027 Jigawa State budget.
The town hall meeting underscores the importance of participatory budgeting and provides an avenue for citizens, particularly grassroots stakeholders, to contribute directly to decisions on public expenditure and community development.
