Akwa Ibom governor, Pastor Umo Eno, on Thursday at anĀ extensive Executive Council meeting convened at the Government House in Uyo, capital of the state, officially ratified the 2024 appropriation bill, totaling N849.97 billion.
The bill was passed by the state legislature on 21 December.
The final budget was augmented by the House to a tune of N4.3 billion from the initial proposed sum by the government of N845.63 billion.
The budget has N352.91 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure while N492.7 billion comprises of capital expenditure.Ā Ā
Mr. Eno however commented that his strategic emphasis was prioritizing revenue generation over expenditure in the forthcoming fiscal year. He said past fiscal year’s challenges despite having sizable budgets were shortfalls on the revenue side.
“In signing this budget today, my primary focus will be on revenue. How do we enhance our revenue streams? Having a budget of this magnitude is futile if it isn’t met with corresponding revenue. Learning from the experiences of last year, it is clear that revenue remains a critical challenge. While this budget approval is essential, our collective priority should be ensuring that we fulfill the revenue targets.”
He divulged ongoing efforts by his administration to raise the state’s internally generated revenue, by directing key agencies such as the Ministry of Finance, Internal Revenue Service, Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission (EARCOM), and others to intensify their efforts in mobilizing revenue by encouraging tax compliance among the populace.
Mr. Eno acknowledged the collaborative efforts between the executive and legislature in ensuring a thorough and timely passage of the budget and called for a collective strategic shift toward financial sustainability and responsible governance.
By this budget Akwa Ibom has the second largest in the Nigerian federation, second only to Lagos with N2.2 trillion, and Rivers State coming in at a third position with N800 billion.
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