Zamfara’s fiscal performance ranking jumps to 17th from 36th position in two years under Governor Lawal – BudgIT
Zamfara’s fiscal performance ranking jumps to 17th from 36th position in two years under Governor Lawal – BudgIT
The Zamfara State fiscal performance has recorded a boost from 36th position in 2023 to 17th position in 2025 under Governor Dauda Lawal, a report by BudgIT has revealed.
This was revealed in the organisation’s 2025 State of States ranking released this week.
The report said Zamfara’s fiscal performance took a 13-step up in its fiscal performance ranking, 17th. It ranked 26th in 2024, the report said.
The state was ranked 36th in 2023 when Governor Lawal took over.
The state’s recurrent revenue increased by 182.34% from N87.44bn in 2023 to N246.88bn in 2024, while its total revenue had a year-on-year growth of 117.68%, moving from N144.95bn to N315.53bn. When IGR is compared to total revenue, the state’s IGR in 2024 is at 10.31% of the total revenue.
The report said that the positive fiscal performance index ranking means that Zamfara is one of the few states that “have comparatively limited dependence on federally distributed revenue for their operations and thus have greater viability if they were to theoretically exist as an independent entity.”
BudgIT is a civic organisation that uses creative technology to simplify public information, stimulating a community of active citizens and enabling their right to demand accountability, institutional reforms, efficient service delivery and an equitable society.
The report said the state recorded improvements in its IGR index. ‘Looking closely at the state’s IGR, Zamfara brought in N25.46bn in 2024, just 14.86% higher than the N22.16bn in 2023. In 2024, Zamfara’s IGR ranked 25th among the 36 states in the federation.”
It states that the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue, one of Zamfara’s sources of income, “increased by 239.18% from N65.28bn in 2023 to N221.42bn in 2024.”
BudgIT explained that “the IGR per capita stood at N4,364 as of the end of 2024,” adding that the state has managed to improve on its IGR moving from a record of N2.74 billion in 2015 to N25.46 billion in 2024 under Governor Lawal.
The state’s tax revenue
Zamfara’s non-tax revenue declined by 71.31% from N3.73 billion in 2021 to N1.07 billion in 2022, but “increased by 593.46% in 2023, with a record of N7.42 billion, and further increased to N12.91bn in 2024 under the Lawal’s administration, the report said.
Breaking down some components of its non-tax revenue, licences rose by 25.30% from N18.18 million in 2021 to N22.78 million in 2022, and grew by 5921.47% and 44.53% in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Revenue earned from fees decreased by 93.90% between 2021 and 2022, and increased by 3610.57% and 88.24% in 2023 and 2024, moving from N82.44mn in 2022 to N3.06bn in 2023 and N5.76bn in 2024. Fines declined by 78.15% in Zamfara.
The BudgIT report also explained that “There were notable changes in the state’s health and education spending between 2022 and 2024. While health sector spending and spending per capita increased over the years, its spending performance declined significantly. With a spending of N4.29bn in 2022, it increased to N5.74bn in 2023 and further increased to N11.88bn in 2024.”
It said the spending per capita went from N785 in 2022 to N1,017 and N2,037 in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
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