By In the delivery rooms of the primary health centres that serve Kebbi State's 21 local government areas, the money voted for the kits that receive newborn children has barely moved. The Primary Health Care Development Agency voted N500 million to buy 12,000 delivery kits for maternal and neonatal mortality innovation, and by the close of the third quarter N247,100 had been spent against the provision, a performance of 0.0 per cent. In the same capital list, N350 million was voted for family planning commodities among the projects yet to commence.
The delivery kits are one line in a primary healthcare budget that the quarter almost entirely passed by. The revised primary healthcare budget stands at N10.39 billion, cut down from N12.39 billion, and N7.78 million was spent in the whole of the third quarter, with N1.47 billion spent in the nine months to 30 September, a performance of 14.2 per cent.
The breakdown is harsher than the total. Personnel in primary healthcare drew N101.34 million of a N906.67 million provision, 11.2 per cent. Overhead drew N41.30 million of N3.10 billion, 1.3 per cent. Capital drew N1.33 billion of N6.38 billion, 20.9 per cent, and no primary healthcare capital expenditure was recorded at all in the third quarter.
By agency, the Primary Health Care Development Agency spent N1.45 billion against a revised budget of N8.47 billion, 17.1 per cent, while the Kebbi State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency spent N3.96 million against N1.59 billion, 0.2 per cent. The Contributory Healthcare Management Agency returned zero revenue against an estimate of N1.49 billion, and the Development Agency recorded no revenue against N806.40 million.
The equipment provisions stand where they were voted. A provision of N1.50 billion for the purchase of health and medical equipment shows a drawdown performance of 0.0 per cent. Rehabilitation and repairs of 40 cold chain equipment units, voted at N100 million, had no expenditure by the end of the quarter, and the same nil return stands against N100 million voted for drugs for the bi-annual Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Week. Procurement of delivery beds and hospital beds carries a provision of N550.23 million.
In Basic Education, there was no expenditure at all in the third quarter. Nine months into the year, spending in the sector stands at N3.73 billion against a budget of N13.96 billion, 26.7 per cent. Capital spending of N2.10 billion, 23.0 per cent of a N9.15 billion provision, went mainly to furniture and instructional materials, including a fully implemented N1.23 billion procurement of 60,000 two-seater furniture units for primary schools and early childhood care centres, while construction in the sector stands at 2.0 per cent.
The money that moved, moved elsewhere. Security Services, an overhead line, entered the year with a provision of N3,031,981,000. The revised budget raised the line to N10,031,981,000, and by 30 September the line had consumed N7,097,146,912.04, a performance of 70.7 per cent, with N1,502,916,000 of it spent in the third quarter alone. Security Services is the main line running ahead of plan.
Behind it, Other Services, General consumed N7,728,916,407.10 of a revised N13,182,973,060.80, 58.6 per cent. Total overhead expenditure for the nine months stands at N30.73 billion, 30.5 per cent of the annual provision.
The Governor's Office overhead vote was raised from N13,211,055,454 in the original budget to N22,361,055,454 in the revised budget. By 30 September the office had spent N9,891,200,908.08 of it, 44.2 per cent, with N2,559,961,470 spent in the third quarter alone.
On the capital side of the same office, the Special Services vote under the Governor's Office carried a revised provision of N2,380,000,000 and had spent N2,095,620,000 by 30 September, 88.1 per cent, every kobo of it before the third quarter opened. That single line accounts for the whole of the capital expenditure under the Governor's Office in the nine months.
The frame around these lines is a revised budget of N642,930,818,157.99. Revenue for the nine months came to N189,307,717,087.52, 31.0 per cent of the annual projection, and total expenditure came to N133,623,935,804.59, 20.8 per cent. With the opening balance of N33.18 billion included, total resources available in the nine months stood at N222.49 billion, 34.6 per cent of the revised budget.
The largest single hole in the revenue book is the Capital Development Fund. The budget provided for N228.21 billion of capital receipts, made up of N212.39 billion in loans and borrowings and N15.82 billion in other capital receipts, and none of it had been realised by 30 September. Aid and grants stood at N14.10 billion, 31.5 per cent of the annual projection.
Capital expenditure for the nine months stands at N49,730,394,317 against a revised capital budget of N425,112,406,888.75, 11.7 per cent, in a period when the recurrent account closed with a surplus of N124.50 billion available for transfer to the capital account. The Economic Sector absorbed 12.5 per cent of its N320.81 billion revised budget, and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting spent 3.0 per cent of a N112.49 billion provision.
Retired workers are still waiting. The provision for clearance of gratuity arrears, N3,629,489,871.88, stands untouched at 0.0 per cent, while gratuities paid in the nine months came to N2,014,587,369.15 against a N5,500,000,000 provision and pensions came to N4,795,784,852.79 against N7,200,000,000. Public debt charges for the nine months stood at N4.42 billion.
SecretsReporters inspection finds a number of ministries, departments and agencies with zero or near-zero actual revenue and expenditure for the period, zero actuals at operational agencies that point to data completeness challenges, and spending on the Health function in the third quarter at 1 per cent of its quarterly budget, the lowest of every function of government.
The state has undertaken to accelerate fund releases and project approvals in the final quarter, particularly in Primary Healthcare and Basic Education, to take written explanations from underperforming agencies, and to reconcile revenue and expenditure data with the Accountant General's Office.
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