C’River, Ekiti govs present 2025 budgets

Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, on Tuesday, proposed N498bn as the state’s 2025 fiscal year budget.

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, also on Tuesday, presented the N375.79bn 2025 budget to the state House of Assembly for passage.

With the development, the two governors became the first set to present their 2025 budgets to their respective state houses of assembly.

On October 23, 2024, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State requested to present the 2025 budget proposal to the state House of Assembly.

Otu christened the 2025 Appropriation Bill as the “Sustainable Growth Budget.”

Giving a breakdown of the fiscal proposal, he disclosed that the proposed budget earmarked N328bn (66 per cent) as capital expenditure and N170bn (34 per cent) as recurrent expenditure.

He said the projection in the proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year was in line with Sustainable Development Goals 2,3,4,9 and 16, which address zero hunger for citizens, good health and well-being, quality education, industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as peace, justice and strong institutions.

“The 2025 budget is benchmarked for the Sustainable Development Goals, and the decision to continue with the SDG benchmark is to guarantee continuity of projects and programmes which were not completed in this current budget size and need to roll over for 2025 fiscal year,” he said.

The governor noted that the N498bn estimated budget was the voice of the people of the state and a product of a wide range of consultation and consensus.

The Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, said he believed that the content of the budget would enhance the overall development of the state.

He lauded the administration for his achievements especially regular payment of salaries to workers and payment of gratuities to retired civil servants.

In Ekiti, the governor budgeted N192.3bn, representing 51 per cent of the proposed budget as recurrent expenditure, while N183.5bn, representing 49 per cent, was earmarked for capital projects.

Oyebanji told the assembly led by the Speaker, Adeoye Aribasoye, that his administration executed and completed many landmark projects in 2024.

“The details of the completed and ongoing projects have been presented to this House during the ‘State of the State’ address on October 16, 2024,” he said.

The governor added, “To consolidate on the achievements recorded in various sectors of the economy, we have proposed a total budget size of N375,790,077,618.15 for 2025.

“Expected revenue sources are federal allocation, Value Added Tax, independent revenue (from Ministries, Departments and Agencies and tertiary institutions), international donor agencies and other sundry income sources.

“Following the revenue forecast for 2025, the recurrent expenditure in the proposed 2025 budget is N192.326bn, representing 51 per cent of the total budget, while the capital expenditure is N183.463bn, representing 49 per cent.

“The recurrent expenditure includes personnel cost, overhead cost, social contributions and benefits, debt service and grants while capital expenditure relates to the cost of infrastructure and other developmental projects.

“The proposed 2025 budget has been carefully prepared to consolidate ongoing capital projects and address the temporary economic hardship occasioned by the petrol subsidy removal and unification of exchange rate by improving our agricultural sector, through provision of incentives, seedling, and farm machinery to enhance food security in the state.

“The proposed 2025 budget will focus on food security, wealth creation and welfare of our people.

“It is important to reiterate that our Shared Prosperity agenda is hinged on six strategic pillars, which cut across all the sub-sectors of the economy.”

The governor listed the six pillars as governance, youth development and job creation, human capital development, agriculture and rural development, infrastructure and industrialisation, and arts, culture and tourism.

Oyebanji said that with the 2025 budget, “the informal sector will be accorded priority attention.

“The need to provide an enabling business environment for existing and emerging businesses cannot be overemphasised.

“Therefore, we as a government shall provide various empowerment programmes for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in the state.”

The governor also promised to provide grants and facilitate credit facilities to business owners.

“All registered cooperatives in the state will be provided with the needed support to enhance their activities,” he added.

The Speaker lauded Oyebanji for his strides across major sectors of the state economy in the last two years.

He said the lawmakers would shelve their scheduled break to attend to the budget proposal.

Aribasoye said the urgent attention to passing the budget proposals in record time was for the governor to sustain his developmental projects in the state.

He added that the legislature would remain committed to upholding the principle of accountability in governance.