By Dennis Okechukwu
The Jigawa State Government has approved the spending of ₦172.3 million to sponsor a single indigene for an agricultural capacity-building programme in Russia, a decision that has triggered concerns over fiscal recklessness and potential abuse of public funds.
The approval was granted during the State Executive Council meeting held on January 21, 2026, and chaired by Governor Umar Namadi, according to an official press release issued by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Youth, Sport and Culture, Sagir Musa Ahmed.
The funds, described as sponsorship under the Jigawa–Russia Agricultural Capacity Cooperation Programme, are earmarked for just one beneficiary, raising questions about value for money, transparency, and priorities at a time when the state is grappling with widespread poverty, poor infrastructure, and underfunded public institutions.
The government said the programme would provide advanced training at Master’s and PhD levels to support agricultural development and food security in the state. However, critics argue that committing over ₦172 million to train a single individual abroad reflects a troubling pattern of elite-focused governance rather than broad-based capacity building.
Observers also questioned why such an amount could not be deployed locally to strengthen agricultural colleges, extension services, or support hundreds of farmers directly within Jigawa State.
The approval came alongside another major financial decision by the council — the release of ₦1 billion for the recapitalisation of Jigawa State Savings and Loans Limited, a state-owned financial institution struggling to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s minimum capital requirements.
While the government defended the recapitalisation as necessary to safeguard depositors’ funds and sustain mortgage financing, analysts note that the combined approvals underscore weak fiscal discipline and poor prioritisation, particularly amid Nigeria’s deepening economic crisis.
Anti-corruption advocates say the Russia training approval fits a familiar pattern in which vaguely defined “capacity building” programmes become conduits for inflated spending, with little public accountability and no clear framework for measuring impact or ensuring the trained individual contributes meaningfully to state development.
As of the time of reporting, the Jigawa State Government had not disclosed the identity of the beneficiary, the duration of the programme, or a breakdown of how the ₦172.3 million would be spent.