Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, on Tuesday announced a budget of N597.800 billion for the 2020 fiscal year
christened ‘Budget of Industrialisation for Poverty Alleviation Phase II’.
The 2020 financial estimate presented to the state
House of Assembly was about N75.19 billion less than the 2019 Appropriation Law.
A breakdown of the 2020 budget showed that
N111.225billion is for recurrent expenditure; N369.642 billion for capital expenditure
and N116.933billion as consolidated revenue fund charges.
The total projected recurrent revenue for 2020
budget is estimated at N381.556billion as against the approved provision of
N374.758billion in 2019.
Announcing the budget to the state lawmakers, the governor said the 2020 budget was designed as a key milestone in actualising
his administration completion agenda.
According to him, the 2020 budget is predicated on an oil
benchmark of $55 per barrel at a production rate of 2.18 million barrels per
day, with an estimated exchange rate of N305/dollar in line with the national
budget benchmark projections.
“Mr. Speaker and honourable members, considering
the fact that my completion agenda is predicated primarily on the rapid
industrialisation of this state, we have christened the 2020 budget ‘The Budget
of Industrialisation for Poverty Alleviation Phase ll’.
“It was named so because the state had started
witnessing major breakthroughs in industrialisation through construction and inauguration
of some industries that are currently in full operations or still ongoing.
“The 2020 budget is aimed at supporting areas that
will deliver inclusive growth and massive employment opportunities such as the
construction of the Ibom Deep Seaport, completion of the state airport
projects, purchase of more airplanes and competition of the 21-storey ‘Intelligent’
building among others,” Emmanuel said.
He maintained that the 2020 budget is “predicated
on the eight-point agenda that forms the policy thrust of my completion agenda
of industrialisation, aviation development, security, infrastructure, small and
medium scale enterprises, human capacity development, agriculture, and rural
and riverine area development."
The governor said with the full implementation of
the provisions, the budget would ensure that the state is self-reliant and less
dependent on statutory allocation from the centre.
Lauding the seventh state Assembly for living up to
its responsibilities since its inauguration, the governor said the executive arm
would always work together with the legislative and the judiciary arms to
deliver good governance to the people.
He charged the state Assembly to speed up the approval
for the financial estimate, and support its implementation, adding: “We promise
to faithfully implement the provisions of the budget for the general good and the well-being of our people.”
Receiving the 2020 budget estimate, the Speaker of state
House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Aniekan Bassey, said the legislative arm would
continue to support the governor to achieve his economic blueprint for the
state.
The Speaker expressed optimism that the 2020 budget
would mark another milestone in the on-going industrialisation and
consolidation efforts of the state government, as he showered encomiums on the governor
for raising the bar in governance.
He lauded the governor for putting together the
fiscal policy document which he said would add extra energy to the economy of
the state given the performance of the 2019 budget.
Bassey who applauded the state government for
attracting many flagship industries to the state, assuring the governor that
the Assembly, through effective legislation and oversight, will ensure that the
2020 budget delivers on its promises to stimulate the economy of the state,
deliver inclusive growth and prioritise the welfare of the people.
Also, to enable the Assembly conclude deliberations on the
budget speedily, the Speaker urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)
to ensure they provide all the necessary supporting budget data and adhere to
the time table that would be announced by the Assembly Committee on Finance and
Appropriation.
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