BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, on Wednesday, presented N145.4 billion budget estimate for the 2022 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly for consideration.
Umahi said that the appropriation bill, tagged, ‘Budget of latter rain,’ was a comprehensive financial plan aimed at optimising emerging opportunities.
According to him, the 2022 budget estimate represented an increase of 46.65 per cent over the 2021 revised approved budget of N99.157 billion.
Umahi said that the increase was as a result of the carry over of a large part of the expected receipts in the 2021 fiscal year to the 2022 fiscal year.
He added that the state expected about N4.32 billion from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for the tertiary institutions, while the Universal Basic Education Board had a growth of over N1.2 billion.
The budget, he said, would be partly funded from the State Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability fund standing at N16.73 billion.
Revenues are also expected from the World Bank’s COVID-19 grants of N1 billion and Federal Government’s bridging finance of N18.23 billion to the 36 states.
Domestic loan of N7 billion would be needed to fund the 2022 budget deficit, as the proposed capital expenditure stands at N89.76 billion representing 61.73 per cent of the bill, while the recurrent expenditure stands at N55.65 billion or 38.27 per cent of the total budget.
Umahi stated that 61.73 per cent capital expenditure to 38.27 per cent recurrent expenditure was structured bearing in mind the state’s determination to deepen the capital projects development.
Umahi said that six critical sub-sectors got over N77.47 billion covering 53.28 per cent, while other sub-sectors had over N67.940 billion covering 46.72 per cent.
The budget estimate of over N24.4 billion covering 16.78 per cent of the total budget sum went to the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Infrastructural Development.
The Ministry of Works and Transport got N24.33 billion which represented 16.74 per cent of the budget, while the Ministry of Human Capital Development and Monitoring got N3.61 billion representing 2.48 per cent, and Ministry of Health got N7.62 billion covering 5.24 per cent.
Ministry of Agriculture was allocated the sum of N3.62 billion representing 2.38 per cent of the 2022 budget estimate.
Among others, Umahi said that there would be provision of grants to farmers and provision of hybrid agricultural inputs to drive agricultural development.
He added that there would also be support to increase food production, labour and intensive agricultural infrastructure.
(NAN)
