Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, has approved the sum of N200,000 as a maintenance allowance for principals of each secondary school across the state.
The governor made the announcement on Monday during the Sokoto State 2025 Citizens Budget Discussion, held at the Sultan Abubakar Maccido Institute of Quranic and General Studies.
In his remarks, the former deputy governor of the state, Chiso Abdullahi, appealed to the governor to approve a certain amount of money for school principals to cover the immediate maintenance needs of the schools.
Abdullahi explained that the money would assist the principals in repairing minor damages to infrastructure or other items without having to wait for long approval processes from the government.
He added that the funds would enable schools to mobilise carpenters, masons, and other workers to carry out necessary repairs whenever needed.
Reacting on behalf of the governor, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Abubakar Bawa, confirmed that the governor had approved the sum of N200,000 per school across the 23 local government areas each month.
Bawa further stated that the payments would begin in January 2025.
Bawa said, “Before I call the next speaker, let me inform this honourable gathering that the governor, in line with the appeal made by the former deputy, has approved N200,000 for each school principal every month. The payment will commence in January 2025 and will cover all secondary schools across the 23 local government areas of the state,” The Punch quoted him.
Meanwhile, the governor has also directed the state commissioner for local government affairs, Dadi Adare, to urgently review the allowances of traditional rulers in the state and make proper adjustments in line with the current economic situation.
This follows a request by the district head of Kilgori, Muhammad Jabbi Kilgori, who represented the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, during the discussion and appealed to the governor for improved allowances to reflect the current economic realities.