Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, has asked the state House of Assembly to approve the N550, 666,987,238.00 appropriation bill for the fiscal year 2023.
The “Budget of Consolidation and Continuity” appropriation bill, which was presented on Tuesday, includes N175,249,692,497 and capital expenditures totaling 350,977,495,537.00.
While recurrent expenses make up roughly 31% of the entire budget for the 2023 fiscal year, capital expenses account for about 63.2% of it.
The governor cited “our pattern of prioritizing capital spending above recurrent” in stating that the proposal was in line with that.
According to Wike, the state would spend N114,264,480,208 on infrastructure, N36,999,486,717 on education specifically, and N31,500,002,023 on health under capital expenditures.
Accordingly, the capital budget estimate for 2023 includes N114,264,480,208 to pay for the completion of all current road and other physical infrastructure projects that our administration has awarded.
According to the governor, in 2023 Rivers State will spend N73,460,278,307 on salaries (for Ministries, Departments, and Parastatals), N7,758,772,851 on new hires, N33,600,000,000 on monthly pensions, and N12,000,000,000 on gratuities and death benefits.
He continued by saying that the fiscal year 2023 budget aims to bring about economic expansion, expanded infrastructure, and citizen prosperity.
The administration will mobilize efforts and resources to complete all ongoing projects so that the new government could start with a clean slate and no debt, he said, adding that no new projects may be awarded, unless where such is regarded to be highly significant.
The governor said that in order to promote economic growth, fiscal restraint, and financial consolidation, the State government implemented a number of budgetary measures in 2021 and 2022, including a ban on borrowing from foreign sources.
He said that these actions significantly stopped revenue leaks, enhanced the state’s ability to generate internal revenue, and avoided funding unsustainable deficits.
We have consequently decided to stick with the current fiscal measures until the year 2023, Wike added. Therefore, there wouldn’t be a rise in tax rates. Additionally, no new taxes will be imposed.
However, through creating prospects for greater investments, industrialisation, and effective tax collection, we will continue to step up our effort to dramatically increase IGR.
The governor said the state is still committed to lowering its reliance on statutory federal funding for its budget and development. He asked other sister states to support Rivers in the fight for the right to levy and collect VAT at the subnational level in order to achieve this goal.
Governor Wike reviewed the 2022 budget’s performance and stated that the State’s approved total budget was only N420, 485,053,736.00.
He revealed that the State’s entire revenue receipts through the end of October 2022 were N321, 250,781,228.91, or almost 70% performance. Internally generated revenue (IGR) totaled N112.099 billion, meanwhile. He claims that this indicates a 25% performance improvement over the figure from 2021 for the same period but a more than 50% decrease from the projected sum for 2022.
Following the stay of execution imposed by the Court of Appeal, which we have challenged to the Supreme Court, the Governor said, “The shortfall in IGR is linked to our inability to collect the estimated proceeds from value-added tax.
Additionally, the nominal increase noted in the allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee is accounted for by augmentation from the Federal Government (FAAC). In other words, the performance of the 2022 budget did not also match predicted FAAC receipts.
“However, at the end of October 2022, the overall performance of the budget on the revenue side was at above 90%.”
Governor Wike disclosed that the introduction and funding of a free food program for students in state primary schools has been recommended under Special Projects in order to boost and sustain enrollment and lessen poverty.
He said that for the fiscal year 2023, the state has also allocated N4 billion under Special Projects to pay for free medical treatment for nursing mothers and children.
Although this is the final year of his term as governor of Rivers State, he declared that his administration is committed to advancing Rivers development and securing its future.
He emphasized, “We are therefore ready to use the budget for 2023 to deliver more transformative infrastructure and other strategic projects and services and move our dear State closer to the point of self-sustainability.
Governor Wike has set in place a strategy for the growth of the State through the wise distribution of resources, according to Rivers State House of Assembly Speaker Rt. Hon. Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani.
Ibani, who praised the governor for his accomplishments over the previous seven years, pointed out that his numerous infrastructure projects will have a favorable impact on the state’s future development.
