Maureen Edozie in Enugu
The Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has signed the N971 billion 2025 budget into law, while it is recalled that he presented the budget in November, to the House of Assembly, and subsequently passed by the lawmakers.
Penpushing reports that Mbah signed the budget into law on Tuesday which comprises N837.9 billion for capital expenditure, representing 86 per cent of the budget, and a recurrent expenditure component of N133.1 billion, representing 14 per cent.
The Governor thanked members of the Enugu House of Assembly for the speedy passage of the budget, describing it as a huge Christmas gift to residents of the state, adding that it is going to boost the efforts to desire destination.
“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,” he said.
“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’, Mbah added
Penpushing further reports that Mbah emphasized that his administration has adopted an exponential growth model as a growth strategy for stimulating development 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 a responsibility to make sure that nobody and no section of the state is left out’, he stated
Penpushing also reports that Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon Uchenna Ugwu alongside his Deputy Speaker, Hon Ezenta Ezeani who led other members to the ceremony in an interview with journalists explained that the speedy passage of the budget was possible because lawmakers were involved 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 in changing anything. The assurance to Ndi Enugu is that we shall continue to have it good’, he said.
Penpushing reports that the speaker praised the Governor for the outstanding performance of the 2024 budget, assuring that the House would effectively exercise its oversight powers in implementing the 2025 budget.
“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’, Ugwu said.
“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,” he added.
Penpushing further reports that the speaker explained that the Governor allocated 33 per cent to the education sector to fight poverty in the state, stressing that he (Governor) was very prepared to walk the talk
“If you have any intention to eradicate poverty, you have to make sure that the mind is educated. So, education is key. So, it means that he (Mbah) is very prepared to walk the talk because, without education, you are going nowhere as a nation’, he stated.
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