By Bimbo Ogunnaike
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has presented a budget proposal of N597 billion for the year 2020 to the state assembly with emphasis on education, industrialization and poverty reduction.
The budget, which Emmanuel presented on Wednesday, is christened ‘Budget of Industrialisation for poverty alleviation phase 2’, and it is based on the premise on moving the state from Civil Service toga to a largely Private Sector driven State.
The governor said this will be achieved by opening up the state and making more accessible for private investments, strengthening existing industries and establishing new ones, as well as improving other Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) processes and drive.
“It is expected that these, as well as the provision of basic infrastructures, enhancement of security, development of human capital and boosting services in education and healthcare will lead to an overall improvement in the living standard of our people”.
An analysis of the budget revealed that capital expenditure leads with N369.6 billion, about 61.8 per cent of the budget; recurrent expenditure is estimated to take N111 billion, 18.6 per cent while while N116,933 (19 per cent) is earmarked for consolidated revenue fund charges.
The 2020 budget is, however significantly lower than that of 2019 which stood at N672,985 and the governor attributed it to oil benchmark of $55 per barrel at a production rate of N2.18 million barrels per day, and with an estimated exchange rate of 305/USS.
Further analysis of the budget also revealed that focus will be on projects and programmes under the Education and Economic sectors.
On Industrialisation, Emmanuel explained that “in the next four years, my administration will intensify efforts and focus in providing a high performance in the industrialization goals we had started in my first term in office.
“We hope to make Akwa Ibom State an industrial hub in our country. In this regard, more energy and vigour will be given to Small and Medium Enterprises to act as drivers of our viable economy. We will make sure that adequate and sufficient modern infrastructural facilities are provided which are quite necessary for effective and efficient industrialization.
“Others are: Integrated Farmers Scheme (IFS), Women Agro-Entrepreneurship Development Programme (WAEDEP), Cassava Development Programme, Animal Feed Safety and Certification Programme, Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Maize Development Programme, Rice Development Project, Agro-Chemical Supply and others”.
Udom disclosed that his administration may complete the Ibom Tropicana and Entertainment Galleria left unfinished by his predecessor.
The governor said the 2020 budget is further anchored on his Eight-Point policy thrust which rests squarely on his initial Five-Point Agenda that shaped his First Term in office.
He listed the agenda to include: Job Creation, Poverty Alleviation, Wealth Creation, Economic and Political Inclusion, and Infrastructural Consolidation and Expansion for continuous transformation of the State into an industrialized entity.”
The Speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Aniekan Bassey praised governor for the purposeful implementation of the 2019 budget and pledged to ensure a speedy consideration and passage of the 2020 appropriation budget.
Bassey however charged the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDGs) to ensure they provide all the necessary supporting budget data and stick to the time table that will be announced by the house for their appearance.
