From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), the Exceptional Leadership and Integrity Promotion (ELIP), has gathered over 1,500 citizen inputs across Jigawa State to shape the 2027 annual budget.
The Executive Director of ELIP, Comrade Isah Mustapha, disclosed this during a citizen town hall meeting organized by the State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in partnership with ELIP at the Sir Ahmadu Bello Hall, New Secretariat, Dutse.
Mustapha explained that ELIP hosted town hall meetings across Jigawa’s three senatorial zones to capture public input for the upcoming budget preparation.
To ensure broad-based participation, the organization deployed representatives across all 287 political wards. And these representatives visited communities directly to collect each area’s top three priority projects for inclusion in the 2027 state budget.
Highlighting ongoing operational challenges, Mustapha noted that many local communities still struggle to distinguish between essential needs, secondary wants, and high-priority infrastructure.
While ELIP carried out massive sensitization campaigns to address this gap, educating citizens on prioritizing vital community needs remains an ongoing effort.
In addition to community outreach, ELIP actively advocated to the state government to redirect its spending focus toward human capital development.
The organization urged government officials to prioritize key sectors such as education, healthcare, economic empowerment, environmental sustainability, and water and sanitation (WASH).
Mustapha assured the public that ELIP will formally submit the collected inputs to the state government and closely track the budget process to ensure the final document reflects the actual demands of the people.
He also commended the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning for its openness and collaboration with civil society organizations to promote accountability and fairness across Jigawa State.
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