Abia state governor, Dr. Alex Otti has signed into law Seven Hundred and Fifty Billion, Two Hundred and Eighty-Two Million, Two Hundred Thousand Naira (750, 282, 200, 000) only for the 2025 fiscal year.
Assenting to the 2025 appropriation bill passed by the Abia State House of Assembly, governor Otti commended the law makers for giving the bill an accelerated hearing and passage, saying that the budget would give his goverment the impetus to continue to deliver on his promises to Abians.
“This budget that has been passed is a budget that will give us the impetus to continue to fire on all cylinders to ensure that our people are living a good life.
“I want to thank specially, the House members and the leadership of the House for doing such a thorough job in record time. I want to commend you for being thorough. That’s actually what our government is about.
“We pride ourselves as a serious minded goverment, so anything we present, we are ready for scrutiny and I want to thank you for a great job you did in scrutinizing the budget, disagreeing in few areas and also being flexible enough to accept when reasonable responses are given,” Otti stated.
The governor, who said that the budget is a budget of sustained momentum, maintained that the government is deliberate in tagging the budget so because it is the second budget the present administration is rolling out.
According to him, “When we say sustained momentum, we know that we have taken off and the challenge is to continue because the easiest thing to do is to accelerate.
“We can assure you that this government has its eyes on the ball and will continue to do those things we promised our people that will take this state out of poverty, that will take this state out of one of the dirtiest states like it was in 2023.
Governor Otti explained that his push for infrastructural development is demonstrated in the budget.
“Our push for infrastructural development is demonstrated in this budget because when you have capital expenditure over 80 percent, it speaks to what you want to do with infrastructure, things that would outlast all of us.
He reiterated that he dedicated about 82 percent of the total envelope to capital expenditure and a megre 18 percent to recurrent expenditure in spite of the challenges of higher wages occasioned by the implementation of the new national minimum wage and regular payment of pensions.
He said some of the projects that kicked off in 2023 would be delivered 2025 including Port Harcourt road in Aba, Umuahia – Uzuakoli -Abiriba – Ohafia road, the Ohafia – Arochukwu to the boundary in Ini , the Okobo -Abam- road, the Omenuko bridge, Nunya road and all other roads that have been awarded or flagged off among other projects including hospitals and schools.
Presenting the budget to the governor earlier, the speaker, Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa described it as a very aggressive budget.
While assuring that the law makers would continue to work with the executive arm of the government to see that Abia state progresses said that with the budget, Abia would continue to grow from strength to strength
