Enugu, Anambra Governors Sign 2024 Budgets into Law

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has signed the N521.5 billion 2024 budget into law.

Gov. Mbah presented the budget before the State House of Assembly on 5 December.

The budget has N107.2 billion for recurrent expenditure, accounting for about 21 per cent, and N414.34 billion for capital expenditure, accounting for about 79 per cent.

The governor, while signing the budget into law at the Government House on Wednesday, said it would engender disruptive economic growth, radical infrastructural development, and efficient service delivery.

Mr Mbah reiterated that the budget would rely heavily on Internally Generated Revenue and charged members of the Executive Arm of Government on robust revenue mobilisation and service delivery in the state.

In attendance at the event were state commissioners, other government officials and some members of the state assembly led by its Speaker, Uchenna Ugwu.

The governor commended the assembly members for their support despite coming from different political parties.

He said the expeditious passage of the budget was a product of executive-legislature collaboration during the making of the budget estimates.

“What this budget signing means to the people of Enugu is that we are going to be spending over N400 billion on capital projects in the next year.

“This is the first time in the history of the state that we are spending that size of funds on capital projects because we are spending 20 times more than what has been typically our capital expenditure outlay in Enugu State,” he said.

The governor said the size of the budget “means that we are going to have large economic activities in Enugu State” and a way of reducing poverty in the state.

“It is going to be monumental in the ways our people are lifted out of poverty and in the ways economic activities will blossom.

“Most important is that it is going to ensure that we address most of the gaps we have in our social services. In the education sector, the signing of this bill into law means that we are now looking forward to 260 smart schools across the state.

“It also means that we are looking forward to 260 Type-2 primary healthcare centres across all our wards in Enugu State. It means that we are going to have radical infrastructural development,” Mr Mbah stated.

“Our Special Agro Processing Zones will come to life. The signing into law of this budget today will ensure that we grow our agriculture so that it is not going to be just for food, it is also going to be for export.”

The governor hinted that the state would borrow to execute the budget in addition to the plan to mobilise over N300 billion from the state’s domestic sources.

“What this means is that we are all going to work tirelessly to ensure that these revenues are realised. It also means that for us at the Executive Council, our meetings would largely be on our revenue performance,” he said.

Soludo signs Anambra 2024 budget into law

Like Mr Mbah, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State also signed the N410.1 billion 2024 Budget into law.

Mr Soludo had presented the budget to the Anambra State House of Assembly for approval in November.

The governor signed the budget into law at his residence on Wednesday, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Christian Aburime.While signing the budget into law, Mr Soludo emphasised his administration’s commitment to implementing the budget using five pillars of his development agenda, with a major focus on infrastructure and human capital development.

The governor hinted at his administration’s plan to address the socio-economic needs of the people by investing in vital projects in the state.

He praised members of the state assembly for their “swift and diligent work” in reviewing and approving the budget.

“This year, we set a record. A draft budget was sent to the House of Assembly early last month, and today, it’s been passed into law. This speed and efficiency demonstrates the commitment of both the executive and legislative arms of government to moving Anambra forward,” Mr Soludo stated.

The governor assured that he would work for residents of the state according to the stipulated timeline in his manifesto.

He added that given that he is now armed with the budget, his administration will begin the real transformation across the state in January 2024.

Premium Times