Alhaji Balarabe Muhammad, popularly known as Danbala, the Deputy Director of Finance at Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, is dead.

The deceased was the uncle of Muhammad Bashir, the LEADERSHIP Hausa Online Editor.

Muhammad, who was the younger brother of Alhaji Salisu Muhammad Unguwar Gini, a former secretary of Kano Municipal Local Government, died on Saturday.

He served in several local government areas in Kano State during his career before his last promotion to the position of Deputy Director of Finance at Nassarawa Local Government.

He was also an active member of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Kano State chapter.

His funeral prayer is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at the residence of Mai Unguwar Gini, along Dan’agundi Road, Kano Municipal.

He has since been buried at Dan’agundi Cemetery after the funeral prayer.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Kano State Government spent ₦10.36 billion on miscellaneous expenses in the first half of 2026, a review of the state’s second-quarter budget performance report has shown.

The expenditure covers hospitality, publicity, welfare packages, refreshments and meals, celebrations and other miscellaneous items. It represents 16.3 per cent of the approximately ₦63 billion the state budgeted for general miscellaneous expenses for the 2026 fiscal year.

A breakdown of the report shows that hospitality consumed ₦1.78 billion between January and June, or 55.6 per cent of the ₦3.19 billion allocated for the item for the full year. In the second quarter alone, hospitality spending stood at ₦1.31 billion.

Honorarium and sitting allowances gulped ₦1.21 billion, representing 47.1 per cent of the ₦2.57 billion annual budget. The second-quarter report listed ₦1.207 billion under the category.

Publicity and advertisements accounted for ₦1.49 billion, or 35.7 per cent of the ₦4.16 billion budgeted for the year, while welfare packages cost ₦901.94 million against an annual allocation of ₦4.03 billion.

Refreshments and meals gulped ₦116.53 million, representing 7.6 per cent of the ₦1.54 billion allocated for the item. Other miscellaneous expenses stood at ₦3.80 billion, or 29 per cent of the ₦13.08 billion annual vote.

The state also spent ₦296.03 million on special days and celebrations, ₦64.62 million on local medical expenses and ₦40.30 million on international medical expenses.

Under the foreign scholarship scheme, ₦162.95 million was spent, accounting for just 0.6 per cent of the ₦26.23 billion allocated for the programme in 2026.

The figures come from the administration of Governor Abba Yusuf’s spending record in the first six months of the year, as captured in the state’s second-quarter budget performance report.

Sahara reporters

Kano State has risen to third position out of Nigeria’s 36 states in the 2026 Subnational Climate Governance Performance Rating and Ranking (SCGPR 3.0), further consolidating its remarkable progress in climate governance.

The latest ranking represents another significant improvement for the state, which moved from 35th position in 2024 to fourth in 2025, before advancing to third place in the 2026 assessment.

Speaking at the launch of the third edition of the ranking in Abuja on Thursday, the Honourable Commissioner for Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Dr. Dahiru Muhammad Hashim, attributed the sustained improvement to the deliberate reforms and strengthened coordination introduced under the leadership of His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

Dr. Hashim said Kano had treated the rankings not merely as an assessment of performance but as an opportunity to identify institutional weaknesses, strengthen climate governance and translate policy commitments into measurable action.

“Kano’s rise from 35th to fourth position gave us a stronger foundation to build upon. Our task now is to sustain that progress through institutions that function consistently and programmes whose benefits can be demonstrated,” he said.

The Commissioner highlighted the Kano State Climate Change Policy and the ongoing advancement of the Kano State Climate Change Bill as key steps towards establishing clearer institutional responsibilities, continuity and accountability in climate action.

He also pointed to the state’s grassroots interventions, including the 10 Million Trees Campaign, which builds on the distribution of 5.5 million tree seedlings across the state’s 44 local government areas in 2025. The campaign incorporates digital monitoring, including GPS-verified planting locations, seedling allocation records and survival reporting, to ensure that tree-planting efforts translate into lasting environmental benefits.

According to Dr. Hashim, Kano is also strengthening climate coordination across its 44 local government areas, recognising that communities experience climate risks differently and that effective adaptation requires local knowledge and participation.

He said the integration of water resources, environment and climate change under one ministry provides an opportunity for the state to address interconnected challenges such as flooding, erosion, land degradation, water insecurity, pollution and changing rainfall patterns through more coordinated planning.

“Across these priorities, our objective is to make climate resilience a routine consideration in public decisions. It should inform how we plan infrastructure, support agriculture, manage water resources and prepare for disasters,” he said.

The Commissioner identified institutional strengthening, evidence-based monitoring and climate financing as priorities for the next phase of Kano’s climate response. He said the state would focus on developing well-prepared projects capable of attracting domestic and international financing, particularly in adaptation, water resources, renewable energy and land restoration.

Dr. Hashim also called for stronger partnerships among government institutions, development partners, universities, civil society organisations, businesses and communities to strengthen research, investment, technical capacity and local implementation.

He said the ultimate measure of Kano’s climate governance performance would not be its position on a ranking table alone, but the impact of government interventions on residents.

“For Kano, the ultimate measure of progress is the difference these decisions make to people’s lives: whether farmland remains productive, communities have dependable access to water, and homes and public assets are better protected from environmental hazards,” he said.

The Commissioner expressed appreciation to the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), development partners, assessors and technical teams for sustaining the Subnational Climate Governance Performance Rating and Ranking.

He also acknowledged Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for his sustained support for climate governance reforms, as well as civil servants, local government officials, partners and communities whose efforts have contributed to the state’s progress.

Dr. Hashim said Kano would study the findings of the 2026 assessment, consolidate areas of progress and address identified weaknesses.

“Kano State will take the findings of this report back home, use them to refine our priorities and continue the work of protecting our people and their livelihoods,” he said.

Signed

Dr. Dahiru M. Hashim
Honourable Commissioner
Ministry of Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change
Kano State