The Auditor-General of the state, Malam Abubakar Danmaliki, disclosed that the state’s IGR grew from ₦25.4 billion in 2024 to ₦32.3 billion in 2025, which he described as a 78.6 per cent increase in revenue performance.
Danmaliki made this known while presenting the Auditor-General’s report on the Audited General Purpose Financial Statements of Zamfara State Government on IPSAS Accrual Basis for the year ended December 31, 2025, as well as the Annual Audit Activity Report on Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.
According to him, Zamfara has sustained full compliance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, IPSAS Accrual Basis, as directed by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC.
He said the 2025 Financial Statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the state as of December 31, 2025, noting that the audit was conducted in line with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards.
“We observed significant improvement in revenue performance and expenditure control in the year under review, especially in Internally Generated Revenue from ₦25.4 billion in 2024 to ₦32.3 billion in 2025. There was adherence to budget discipline in all the MDAs in line with His Excellency’s rescue agenda,” he said.
The Auditor-General, however, flagged some lapses requiring management attention, including incomplete asset registers in some MDAs, unretired advances and imprests, and weaknesses in store records and inventory management.
He added that a total of 98 MDAs were audited for revenue and expenditure, with audit queries issued. While some queries have been cleared, others remain outstanding, with cases of non-compliance with financial regulations, procurement law and public expenditure management reforms.
But beyond the audit figures, the development has sparked a bigger conversation among residents and analysts: If Zamfara’s IGR is growing this fast, why does poverty still dominate the state
Zamfara remains one of Nigeria’s poorest states, with thousands of households battling food insecurity, poor access to healthcare, low school enrollment and unemployment, despite its vast gold and agricultural potentials.
Critics argue that rising IGR has not translated into visible improvements in rural roads, markets, water supply and youth empowerment, while insecurity continues to cripple farming and trading activities that sustain the local economy.
The question now is whether the ₦32.3 billion IGR will be deliberately tied to pro-poor programmes that directly lift people out of poverty, or whether it will be swallowed by recurrent spending and administrative costs with little to show on the ground.
