Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State on Tuesday presented a ₦939.85 billion 2026 Appropriation Bill christened ‘Budget of Hope and Growth,’ to the state House of Assembly.

Presenting the budget, Okpebholo said the 2026 fiscal plan was carefully designed to build on the foundation laid in 2025, while expanding the reach of government programmes to directly impact the lives of Edo people across all sectors of the economy.

The governor said the budget prioritises critical areas of sustainable development, including security, infrastructure, agriculture, education, job creation and healthcare.

He stressed that his administration remains committed to delivering “development the people can see and feel.”the governor, the budget prioritises critical areas of sustainable development, including security, infrastructure, agriculture, education, job creation and healthcare, stressing that his administration remains committed to delivering “development the people can see and feel.”

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A breakdown of the proposal shows a total expenditure of ₦939.85 billion, with capital expenditure standing at ₦637 billion, representing 68 percent of the budget, while recurrent expenditure is pegged at ₦302 billion, accounting for 32 per cent.

Okpebholo explained that the strong emphasis on capital spending reflects his administration’s determination to fast-track development through strategic investments in roads, schools, hospitals, water supply, housing and other high-impact economic projects across the state.

He disclosed that the 2026 budget would be funded through Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) estimated at ₦160 billion, Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations projected at ₦480 billion, capital receipts and grants of ₦153 billion, ₦146 billion from Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), as well as other viable revenue windows available to the state.

The governor, who assured Edo residents that his government would not impose unnecessary financial burdens on citizens, noted that the administration would instead intensify efforts to strengthen revenue systems, block leakages and improve public finance management.

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Under sectoral allocation, the economic sector received the largest share with ₦614.2 billion earmarked for agriculture, roads, transport, urban development and energy. Priority areas include rural and urban road construction, completion of two flyovers, drainage works, urban renewal, and expansion of farm estates and irrigation facilities.

The social sector was allocated ₦148.9 billion to cater for education, healthcare, youth development, women affairs and social welfare.

Planned interventions include extensive school renovations, recruitment and training of teachers, expansion of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities, as well as investments in youth skills, sports and entrepreneurship programmes.

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For governance and service delivery, the administration sector received ₦157.7 billion to drive civil service reforms, staff training, deployment of digital tools, improved revenue collection systems, support for ministries, departments and agencies, and the full rollout of e-governance platforms.

The justice sector was allocated ₦19 billion to strengthen the courts, improve justice delivery and support legal reforms and access-to-justice programmes, while regional development and local government support will focus on grassroots empowerment, community road construction, rural electrification, water and sanitation projects, and security outposts in border communities.

Governor Okpebholo said the 2026 Budget of Hope and Growth is anchored on his SHINE Agenda, built on five pillars—Security, Health, Infrastructure, Natural Resources/Agriculture and Education—with the overarching vision of creating a prosperous and united Edo State where every citizen feels the impact of governance.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Bauchi state government have flagged off a 7-day immunisation exercise to vaccinate 127,550 children in Toro local government area of the state.

Musa Danladi, Local Immunisation Officer (LIO), Toro LGA, stated this in an interview with newsmen in Toro on Tuesday.

According to him, the goal was to reach the children to further tackle polio related diseases, child mortality and all vaccine preventable diseases as well as to improve child health in the LGA.

He said with the collaborative efforts of UNICEF, Bauchi state government and the World Health Organization (WHO), 32 ward focal persons and Field Volunteers had been trained at the LGA level for the exercise.

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Danladi explained that the exercise was flagged off in Tilde Ward due to its little history of vaccine non-compliance.

“We have a team of vaccinators that are also going street by street to immunise the children outside their houses.

“We have the Novel Oral Polio Vaccines which our house to house team carry along with them to ensure that all the eligible children from zero months to 59 months are immunized.

“We also have a fixed post, stationed in one location in each of the 17 wards where they get children from zero to 23 months and give them all the vaccine antigen like the NOPV, BCG, Hepatitis B, IVV, PCV among others,” he said.

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The LIO, who said that there was 99 per cent vaccine compliance in the local government, added that the feat was achievable due to the utmost support received from the LGA chairman to complement UNICEF and the state government.

“UNICEF is also supporting our community leaders, vaccine campaign mobilizers, and our town announcers.

“It was UNICEF and other development partners that facilitated the supply of all the vaccines and if there are no vaccines, the vaccination of these 127,550 eligible children wouldn’t be possible,” said Danladi.

He called on the people to redouble their efforts in complying with all the vaccination campaigns and ensure that all the eligible children were vaccinated in order for the LGA to be free from vaccine preventable diseases.

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Also speaking, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Bauchi, explained that UNICEF over 1.7 million eligible children had been reached and vaccinated in the state.

She said one of UNICEF’s strategies in saving children’s life, keeping them healthy and making them reach their potential is immunisation.

“There were thousands of children with zero dose vaccines in UNICEF’s intervention states who have now been reached and immunised.

“There have been so many children in the most vulnerable, most deprived and most remote areas where UNICEF teams have reached and immunised,” she boasted.

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Ahmed Suleiman, Consultant with Magama Primary Healthcare Centre, Toro, said a lot of parents have taken their eligible children to the centre for vaccination as team had been mobilised to senstitise them on the importance of the vaccine.

Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board (BSPHDB) said there were still few rejection cases across the state which he assured, would be tackled.

He ascribed frequent conduction of vaccination exercises to the rejection as people were feeling there would be an overdose in the children’s body due to ignorance.

“Like in this year, this is the third one and we have been doing it over years so they think there is an overdose and they are getting tired of it because of ignorance,” he said.

The Bauchi state government says it has opened an employment portal to recruit 10,000 citizens of the state into different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Gov. Bala Mohammed disclosed this in Bauchi on Friday prior to the commencement of stakeholders’ meeting on the employment.

Mohammed, who said that the meeting was to engage stakeholders on how the employment would be done, added that a lot of the citizens of the state have started applying on the portal.

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“I invited you here because the Head of Service has come up with a template and he has given us the gist of the employment of 10,000 so far.

“There are 214 jobs with 5,669 vacancies that are available in 18 MDAs, and all the people from the council’s have applied.

“The advert has generated a lot of interest, and so I don’t know how to navigate this. I must source for your resourcefulness.

“I must get your contribution, so that together we will do it with justice and equity.

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“Not just to allocate everything for political expediency or the so-called people on the high table will go and share the vacancies,” he said.

Mohammed explained that the Head of Service had said that only 5,669 vacancies were available at the moment, promising that the rest would be employed next year.

He called on all the stakeholders to be just and equitable while charting the way the employment would be executed.