Reports indicate that the fund is intended to secure 1,300 additional seats for Kebbi State residents participating in the 2026 Hajj exercise.
The Kebbi State government announced on December 7, 2025, the approval of N10 billion for Hajj seats.
Reports indicate that the fund is intended to secure 1,300 additional seats for Kebbi State residents participating in the 2026 Hajj exercise.
Justifying the approval, the Chairman of the State Pilgrim Welfare Agency, Faruku Aliyu-Yaro, stated that the fund was released to meet the December 5 deadline set by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.
He disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Birnin Kebbi.
Aliyu-Yaro described the approval as "a decisive, compassionate, and people-centred intervention."
However, a SaharaReporters review of the state’s budget performance document shows that between January and September 2025, Kebbi State generated only N14 billion as internally generated revenue (IGR).
This means the N10 billion approved for 1,300 Hajj seats represents 71.4% of the state’s total IGR for the first three quarters of 2025.
Despite spending N10 billion on Hajj seats, the state spent only N86 million on capital expenditure for its Ministry of Water Resources within the same period.
The Ministry of Higher Education recorded capital spending of N969 million, while the Ministry of Health spent N2.7 billion between January and September 2025, all significantly lower than the N10 billion allocated for 1,300 Hajj seats.
The review shows that the state budgeted N2 million for borehole and overhead tanks. This would mean that the N10 billion can drill 5,000 such boreholes.
The state allocated N20 million to construct a single clinic, a figure that implies the N10 billion earmarked for 1,300 Hajj seats could instead fund the construction of 500 such clinics across the state.
Additionally, the state plans to spend N100 million on beddings, desks, and furniture for 13 schools, which suggests that the same N10 billion could outfit 1,300 schools.
The state’s financial and fiscal priorities have repeatedly drawn scrutiny.
A SaharaReporters review of Kebbi State’s 2025 budget revealed that N1.359 billion is earmarked for the purchase of 1,000 fridges and freezers, averaging N679,800 per unit.
The project, classified under the Ministry of Special Duties as a “special intervention,” raises questions about the justification for such a large expenditure.
The N1.3 billion allocation for fridges and freezers surpasses the entire budget of the Kebbi State Water Board, which stands at N589 million.
It also exceeds the budgets for key health and educational institutions: the College for Preliminary Studies, Yauri, is allocated N525.8 million; Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, N1.053 billion; general hospitals, N220 million; the College of Nursing Sciences, N1.052 billion; and the College of Health Sciences and Technology, Jega, N420 million.
These comparisons highlight the disproportionate spending on fridges and freezers relative to essential public services.