Joe Effiong, Uyo
Akwa Ibom State government has proposed a total budgetary outlay of N435.652billion for the 2021 Financial Year as against the approved revised provision of N366.000billion of 2020.
Governor Udom Emmaneul who presented the budgetary outlay to the state house of assembly on Tuesday, and tagged it ” Budget of Economic Reconstruction”, said the aim of the budget was to move the state away from its current civil service status to the dream of an ndustrialised one.
He said the policy thrust of the 2021 budget would focus on the key pillars of the Completion Agenda.
“The objective is to ensure that we rapidly industrialize this State and open up new areas of growth and development through intense and coordinated efforts to increase our internally generated revenues and be less dependent on Allocations from the Federal Government, which was the main thrust of recommendations by the Post-Covid -19 Economic Reconstruction Committee I had set up earlier this year.
“Education, as a key component of the Human Capital Development of our Competition Agenda will be given a pride of place. Our children must be made ready to compete with their peers and distilled to be a part of the global march to apply science and technology to create job and wealth for themselves. Our children are highly gifted and innovative and we must provide the enabling environment for them to achieve their potentials.” The governor said.
The 2021 Budget which is predicated on an oil benchmark of $40 per barrel at a production rate of 1.86 million barrels per day, with an estimated exchange rate of N379/US$, in line with the National Budget benchmark projections, is made up of N158.4 billion as recurrent expenditure, N227 billion capital expenditure while N50.8 billion would go to Consolidated Revenue Fund Charge.
According to the governor, the total projected Recurrent Revenue for 2021 is estimated at N255.003 billion as against the approved revised provision of N203.556 billion for 2020.
“Analysis of sectoral allocations above show that priority is given to projects and programmes under the Economic Sector such as: education, healthcare, aviation development, infrastructure, industrialization, small and medium scale enterprises, human capacity development, power and of course, rural and riverine development – all the pillars of our Completion Agenda,” he said.
While thanking the assembly members for working in close partnership with the executive to accelerate the wheel of progress of the State and of the people despite the challenges associated with governance especially given the harsh effects on the economic horizon due to the Covid-19 pandemic,, Emmanuel stressed that “the Fundamentals of our growth remain strong, solid and absolutely resilient.
“I therefore, ask you Mr. Speaker and the Honorable Members of this great Chamber to speedily and expeditiously approve this Budget so we can continue to, in one accord and in unison, move our State forward and prove to everyone, that Government can indeed be a force for good and not a force for ill, so help us God!”.
