The ongoing reforms embarked by Kano State Government is gaining strong momentum in boosting internally generated revenue (IGR), as the state now ranked fifth on an index measuring IGR growth, following Enugu, Bayelsa, Abia, and Osun.
However, despite the growth in IGR, the state is classified as one of the 28 states in Nigeria that still depend significantly on federal transfers and other external inflows of fund for its operations, a BudgIT`s 2025 ‘State of States’ report indicated.
While the state made progress in some fiscal areas, its fiscal performance was rated as “middling” in 2025, with a score of 0.68 on one index. This indicates that while there has been steady improvement, the performance is still modest
The report indicated that the state has consistently demonstrated strong performance in growing its IGR last year (2024), a development that place it among the top states with the highest momentum in this area, but also highlighted significant areas where Kano State fell short, particularly regarding budget implementation in the health sector.
In the area of health, the state was listed among the 30 states that failed to implement at least 80 percent of their health budgets in 2024, this is in contrasts with the seven states that did achieve this target in the year.
The report warned that most states are not effectively deploying the increased revenues, including from federal allocations, and IGR, into delivering critical social services that are required to improve the living condition of their citizens.
In the most recent ‘State of States’ report, Kano State was ranked 27th out of the 36 Nigerian states, and positioned as the 7th best-performing state, in fiscal performance, this represents a notable improvement, as Kano State moved up three places from its 10th position in the 2024 ranking.
In a separate but related index, the 2025 CIAPS Governance Performance Index (CGPI) report, Kano was ranked 17th with a score of 48.5%, and the key performance indicators contributing to Kano’s strong showing in recent reports include:
Ranking 2nd in the Transparency and Integrity Index (TII) 2025 by the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI), and a leading mover in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), doubling its IGR in 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Kano State initially budgeted ₦72.001 billion for health in its original 2024 budget. This figure represented a 16.46% allocation of the total initial budget of ₦437.338 billion, making it one of the few Nigerian states to meet the 15% Abuja Declaration benchmark.
Later reports, likely reflecting a revised or supplementary budget, indicated a health allocation of approximately ₦90.6 billion, which represented 16% or 16.5% of a larger, revised total budget of around ₦549 billion, in the year.
The state government also approved an additional ₦99 billion supplementary budget at one point, which focused on infrastructure, health, and education, further increasing the total expenditure plan.
The health budget was distributed among various agencies, including the Ministry of Health, Hospital Management Board, Primary Healthcare Management Board, College of Nursing and Midwifery, and the Drugs Management and Medical Consumables Agency.
The increased funding was aimed at improving healthcare services, infrastructure, and the recruitment of health workers in the state
However, in the outgoing budget year (2025), the state has made education its primary focus, by allocating 31% to education.
The exact reasons for Kano State achieving less than 80% in the implementation of its health targets in 2024 are not explicitly detailed in publicly available reports, as performance reports often focus on successes or general challenges.
However, based on recurring issues in the state’s health sector and common challenges faced by Nigerian states, the likely reasons for any underperformance may include: Responding to enquires from BusinessDay, on the state performance in the recently released 2025 BudgIT`s ‘State of States’, Mercy Musa, executive director, Frontier for Peace Advocacy, and Governance Initiative (FPAGI), said that specific official statements or audit reports detailing the precise 2024 performance percentage and the direct reasons for missing the 80% target have not been made known.
She however, noted that the state, the primary reasons the report indicated, why along with many other Nigerian states, achieved less than 80% in the implementation of its health targets and budgets in 2024 ranges from:
“Revenue Shortfalls: The state experienced significant shortfalls in its projected Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and receipts from aid and grants in 2024. This lack of available funds meant that many planned projects and health targets could not be executed as intended.
“Weak Primary Healthcare System: A significant number of Primary Healthcare (PHC) centers remain ill-equipped, understaffed, and in a state of disrepair. A large percentage (over 75%) of PHCs still provide only limited services for common conditions like hypertension, indicating a major gap in the delivery of essential healthcare at the grassroots level.
“Inadequate Human Resources: There are persistent challenges related to staff capacity gaps, an insufficient number of health workers, and a general understaffing problem in many health facilities.
“Poor Planning and Supervision: Issues such as delays in the submission of quarterly business plans by health facilities, a lack of regular and effective supportive supervision from state health agencies, and poor coordination can hinder the timely disbursement and utilisation of funds.
“Focus on Recurrent Expenditure: While the budget allocation to health may be high on paper, states often struggle to shift from recurrent expenditure (salaries, overheads) to capital and human development spending that delivers real impact.
“Lack of Effective Linkage between Health Levels: There is a known issue with the lack of effective referral and feedback systems between primary and secondary health facilities, which creates gaps in the continuity of patient care,” Mercy explained.
