By Lawrence Mpama
In the spirit of his ‘People’s First Mantra’, and in his avowed commitment to improve on the status of the state as an agro-industrial hub in the country, the Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, has proposed the sum of N498 billion as the state’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
There is a mark departure from previous budgets in the state, with over 66% earmarked for capital expenses, leaving 34% for recurrent expenses. This clearly underscores the need for massive agro-industrial, and economic development projects to be executed in the state in 2025 fiscal year.
Presenting the proposal at the hallowed chambers of the State House of Assembly on Tuesday, Governor Otu allocated N328 billion (66%) for Capital Expenditure, and N170 billion (34%) as Recurrent Expenditure.
A further breakdown shows that N100 billion is earmarked for Infrastructure, N81 billion for Education, N25 billion for Health, while N20 billion was allocated to the Judiciary.
“House of Assembly has N18 billion allocation, Aviation N16 billion, Special Duties/Intergovernmental Affairs N15 billion, Power N14 billion, Agriculture N11 billion, Tourism N5 billion, Science, Technology and Innovation N4.7 billion, Women Affairs N3.7 billion, Information N3 billion, and others N181.6 billion,” the Governor revealed.
The outlay, according to the Governor has, Federal Allocation, Grants from International Organizations, and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) as major revenue sources to fund the 2025 budget.
“The 2025 Budget, like the previous year’s budget, is benchmarked on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The decision to continue with the SDG benchmark is to guarantee continuity of projects and programs that may not be completed in this current budget cycle. This necessitated the need to roll over to the 2025 fiscal year.
It is for these reasons, according to the Governor that, he has deliberately placed emphasis on SDG 9 showcasing – (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG 4 – Quality Education; SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being; SDG 2 – Zero Hunger; as well as SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions,” Otu stated.
His Excellency, informed Cross Riverians, that his administration’s adherence to strict financial prudence had placed the state as the ninth best state out of the 36 states in the 2023 Fiscal Performance Ranking, adding that, “These indices have gone to confirm that development is not a linear achievement; rather a multidimensional process, where our progress is not measured solely by economic indicators, but by various dimensions interconnected to contribute to the overall well-being of the citizenry.”
While reassuring the citizens that his administration’s policy preferences are meant to snowball into the common good of the people, the Governor also thanked the leadership of the State House of Assembly for building a common consensus among members to cooperate with the Executive and Judiciary Arms of Government to achieve a prosperous Cross River State.
Lawrence Mpama is the Publisher and Managing Editor of Cross Atlantic Newspapers.
