By joshua The Economic Engine Room: How Asiwaju Asiru Idris Turned Kogi’s Treasury Into Tangible Development
By Abu Micheal
Asiwaju Asiru Idris, Kogi State Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, is a phenomenon. He is an effective Finance Commissioner measured not only by how much is in the State treasury, but by how much development the treasury delivers.
Since assuming office as Commissioner of Finance in 2016, and later as Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning in January 2020, Asiru Idris has redefined public finance in Kogi State. What stands out about him are competence, credibility, and delivery, qualities that have kept him steady through two administrations and made him the longest-serving Finance Commissioner in the state’s history.
His staying power and efficiency resonate even more through his close working relationship with the Accountant General of the State, Hajia Habibat Onumoko. This synergy is further strengthened with an accountant as Governor, creating a finance team that speaks one language: prudence, accountability, and results.
Under Asiru’s watch, Kogi moved from fiscal uncertainty to one of Nigeria’s most disciplined states. Official reports published by the State Government show that debt servicing as a share of total revenue has consistently declined, from 29 percent in 2020 to 15 percent in 2021, and to 11 percent in both 2022 and 2023. These figures are far below the 40 percent international sustainability benchmark.
As at March 31, 2025, the Debt Management Office ranked Kogi as the state with the 5th lowest domestic debt nationwide. The 2024 Debt Sustainability Analysis further projects that debt service obligations will remain sustainable up to 2033. This has firmly disproved claims of fiscal distress and freed resources for infrastructure, healthcare, education, and other people-centered programmes.
Asiru has also institutionalized transparency. He released a comprehensive breakdown of the state budget to ensure citizens understand how public funds are allocated, and the administration continues to publish budgets, debt sustainability reports, and citizens’ guides on the State’s official website.
Key reforms credited to him include the institutionalization of the Treasury Single Account and the enactment of the State Fiscal Responsibility Law. These reforms, driven in close collaboration with the Office of the Accountant General, have blocked leakages and ensured that every Naira is tied to a project or service.
On revenue and growth, Asiru’s strategy has been to grow Internally Generated Revenue without suffocating the people. He spearheaded financial reforms that helped stabilize the state’s finances and led Kogi to emerge 1st among the 36 states of the federation in the 2019 fiscal performance ranking. In 2026, he presented the “Budget of Shared Prosperity”, a bold ₦820.49 billion proposal, representing a 35.7 percent increase over the 2025 revised budget.
He explained that the focus is on boosting internal revenue, strengthening debt recovery, fostering a business-friendly environment, deepening public-private partnerships, and ensuring project completion. He has also emphasized investment in agriculture to boost food production and create jobs, and in education through the construction and renovation of primary and secondary schools across the state.
Beyond annual budgets, Asiru is credited as part of the team that developed Kogi’s 32-year development plan, a long-term blueprint now guiding infrastructure in critical sectors. The hallmark of his tenure has been the timely payment of salaries and pensions, which has kept the state economy moving.
Through the efficiency of the accountability unit in his ministry and the support of the Accountant General’s office, Kogi secured a $5 million grant from the World Bank for specific projects. He also championed the restructuring of State Government Bonds and worked with the World Bank on the Public Governance Reform and Development Project.
Asiru explains complex finance in plain language and works across MDAs to ensure spending delivers results. Beyond the office, his impact is felt directly at the grassroots.
Marking his birthday recently, he donated six solar-powered motorized boreholes to communities in Yagba East LGA to ensure sustainable access to potable water. He also rolled out ₦50,000 cash empowerment to hundreds of beneficiaries across six wards to support small-scale businesses, and ₦25 million in business grants to 50 MSMEs in Kogi West, ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦2 million. Other initiatives included ₦15 million for APC party executives and ₦5 million for women leaders. Community leaders described the boreholes as a critical, long-term intervention that demonstrates responsive and people-centred leadership.
People may not read the budget, but they feel Asiru’s leadership when salaries and pensions are paid on time every month, when projects are completed to match what was budgeted, when revenue collection is digitized through reforms like TSA, when Kogi’s debt profile remains among the healthiest in the country, and when there is fiscal space for development without resorting to fresh borrowing.
An effective Finance Commissioner is not just an “accountant.” He is the economic engine room of government. Asiwaju Asiru Idris has proven that. Working in lockstep with the Accountant General, Hajia Habibat Onumoko, and under a Governor who understands the books, he has ensured that money is not just counted, but that it works for the people.
Through fiscal discipline, he freed resources for development. Through transparency, he built public trust. Through strategic planning, he anchored Kogi’s 32-year development vision. And through direct empowerment, he ensured the treasury delivers to the last man in the rural areas.
As Kogi moves into the “Budget of Shared Prosperity” era, Asiru Idris remains the steady hand that ensures promise translates into projects.
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