Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, on Tuesday presented a substantial N521.5 billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly.
This budget, termed the “Budget of Disruptive Economic Growth,” marks the highest in the state’s history, comprising N414.3 billion for capital expenditure and N107.2 billion for recurrent expenditure.
During the presentation in plenary, Mbah outlined, “The 2024-2026 Multi-Year Budget is named Budget of Disruptive Economic Growth. This is on account of the fact that it is structured to drive growth in a markedly different pattern than we have attempted to do hitherto.”
He detailed the proposed budget’s significant increase, stating, “We are proposing a total budget of the size of ₦521,561,386,000.00 for the 2024 fiscal year as against the approved revised provision of ₦224,697,899,063.00 for 2023. This represents a 132% increase from the 2023 revised budget.”
Mbah elaborated on revenue projections, including estimates from various sources like Internally Generated Revenue, statutory revenue, excess crude oil revenues, and Value Added Tax, emphasizing the expected increase in revenue from ₦143,571,592,917 in 2023 to ₦383,789,000,000 in 2024.
Breaking down the expenditures, he explained, “Recurrent expenditure proposed at ₦107,227,266,000.00 includes personnel costs, overhead costs, and consolidated revenue charges. This translates to a Net Recurrent Revenue of ₦276,561,734,000.00, transferred to the capital development fund.”
The projected total capital expenditure for 2024 stands at ₦414,334,120,000.00, funded from both the consolidated revenue fund and capital receipts. These receipts encompass aids, grants, Public Private Partnerships, domestic and international loans, and borrowing receipts.
Regarding sectoral allocations, the economic sector received the highest capital expenditure at N207.8 billion, followed by the social sector at N182.9 billion. Within the social sector, education acquired 73.6% of the allocation, constituting 33% of the total budget, marking the highest allotment in both categories.