Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, has signed the N971bn Enugu State 2025 Appropriation Bill into law with a vow to ensure its implementation.
Mbah also said his administration would seek to achieve the target of exponential economic growth and inclusive prosperity for the state.
The budget comprised N837.9bn Capital Expenditure, representing 86 per cent of the budget, and a Recurrent Expenditure component of N133.1bn, representing only 14 per cent of the budget.
According to the breakdown, education got N320.6bn, representing over 33 per cent and largest share of the total budget.
The governor signed the document in a brief ceremony witnessed by members of the Enugu State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu; Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ezenta Ezeani, and members of the House.
Mbah thanked the lawmakers for the speedy passage of the budget, describing it as a massive Christmas gift to the people of the state.
“What we are witnessing here today is democracy in action.
“We christened our budget, ‘Budget of Exponential Growth and Inclusive Prosperity,’ because it is at the heart of everything we do in the state.
“If you look at the development model adopted, it is one that takes into account the development challenges we have across our state because as I have always said, we are only as good as our weakest link.
“So, we have responsibility to make sure that nobody and no section of the state is left out.
“Again, in terms of growth, we recognised very early in the day that marginal growth or incremental growth model will not cut it for us.
“The rest of the world will not wait for us and development is not something that you wish into existence.
“You must be very intentional about it. So, our growth strategy is the one that adopts an exponential growth model.
“What we proposed in the budget that you graciously passed and we signed into law is going to boost our efforts and that march to our desired destination, which is that no person or child of this state will go to bed hungry.
“This is a huge Christmas gift from the legislature to the people of Enugu State because they can all go home knowing that by the 1st of January, we are going to continue on our march towards Enugu’s greatness and development of Enugu State; and nothing will stop us,” he stated.
Speaking, the Speaker attributed the sustenance and early passage of the budget figures proposed by the governor to the involvement of the parliament in the budget preparation.
“We were part of the process that produced those figures in the first place.
“Because we were carried along, we did not have to change anything because behind closed-doors, we had done the job already before the budget was presented. So, there is no point changing anything. The assurance to Ndi Enugu is that we shall continue to have it good,” he said.
He commended Governor Mbah for the high performance of the 2024 budget, assuring that the House would effectively exercise its oversight powers in the implementation of the budget and also provide support to the administration where necessary.
“Now, if you look around Enugu, you can see the development that is happening everywhere in all sectors, including the education sector, health sector, the tourism sector, the road infrastructure, and indeed everything.
“It means that the governor’s promise to reduce poverty headcount to zero in Enugu State is realistic and if you look at the budget, you can see that the information in the budget is akin to achieving that.
“As for the differentials in terms of the different sectors, one-third of the budget is in education. If you have any intention to eradicate poverty, you have to make sure that the mind is educated. So, education is key and has taken a large chunk of the budget that has been signed into law today.
“So, it means that he is very prepared to walk the talk because without education you are going nowhere as a nation,” the speaker said.
