Gov Otti presents N567.2bn budget to Abia Assembly

 

…Sets to make workers happy as he defray leave allowance

 

Steve Unegbu, Umuahia

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, on Tuesday, presented a budget estimate of N567.2 billion for the 2024 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly.

The budget is christened “Budget of New Beginning.”

Otti said, “The 2024 budget proposal targets the expansion of our public infrastructure in line with our new development targets, scaling up access and quality service delivery in the social sector, with a special focus on education and health where we are proposing to commit more than 20 per cent and 15 per cent of the aggregate budget spending, respectively.

 

“The key distinction in the 2024 budget estimate, however, is in the direction of spending. While the 2023 projection allocated 53 per cent of the entire budget for capital expenditure, our target in the 2024 fiscal year is to spend 84 per cent of the total expenditure on capital projects and commit 16 per cent to recurrent expenditure, as against 47 per cent in the 2023 estimates.”

He said of the proposed figure, government’s estimated total revenue is N166,077,717,058, including earnings from IGR channels, Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, grants from multilateral organisations and income from other revenue sources.

The governor expressed his plan to finance the deficit of N401,162,378,914 partly by new borrowings estimated at N385,271,027,214.

About 50 per cent of this borrowing, he said, will be sourced externally, while the balance will be sourced locally.

According to him, all borrowing in the 2024 fiscal year would be committed strictly to capital development projects with a direct impact on the economy of the state, especially roads, schools and medical facilities, whose impacts on the general economy in the medium to long term would generate the sufficient returns that would enable the state to meet its obligation to the creditors smoothly and ultimately pay off the loans in due course.

Stating that he implemented the 2023 budget of N160.5 billion well, Otti said the projection is that the state would go well past the 60 per cent budget implementation mark achieved in 2022.

 

“Today’s budget presentation is therefore significant in many ways. First, it is the first full-year budget by our government, deliberately structured to reflect the priorities of the administration on very important frontiers.

 

“Our goal is to consolidate on the modest gains made in the 2023 budget cycle, especially in the last six months,” he said.

 

Responding, the Speaker,  Emmanuel Emeruwa, described the budget as “robust and capital intensive” and the first time in the history of the state that such amount is budgeted for, and “a robust move that will enhance the economy and every human life.”

 

He assured the governor that the House of Assembly will consider the bill favourably and with dispatch so that work will not be delayed and for people to see the change in the state.

 

However, Abia State Government has said it is committed to making workers in the State happy through special packages this season.

 

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu stated this while briefing the press on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting at the Government House , Umuahia.

 

He said government would design a plan to clear the Leave Allowances owed workers in the State overtime.

 

The Commissioner said that the Alex Otti – led administration is intentional and strategic in its activities to ensure Abians are positively impacted.

“.putting all these together, you see that this government is intentional,this government is very strategic, this government is very deliberate in these activities, you can see all these coming together; the road construction, putting very strong governance architecture in place ,the ease of doing business, you can see that all those things are taking us somewhere, Abia is headed in a new direction, and that new direction is the new Abia we all strive to create” he said.

 

Kanu informed that the importance of the newly signed “Greater Aba Development Authority” (GADA) cannot be over emphasised as it is aimed at rebuilding Aba.

 

He said by signing into law the GADA, Aba rejuvenation has metamorphosed into Greater Aba Development Authority and now has received impetus for overall development of the commercial nerve centre.

 

According to Prince Kanu, the  activities on road infracstructure is on course in Aba and Umuahia and three zones “So road construction for us is a work in progress. Government has plans to provide alternative access roads in and out of the city (Osah road, Umuahia) to ensure that during the Yuletide Abians and residents, even visitors in the State will not go through the usual gridlock that they used to experience before now”

 

He said that as part of plans to achieve ease of doing business, the government has ensured  that issuance of Certificate of Occupancy in the State now takes place within 30 days.

 

Contributing, the Commissioner for Land and Housing , Mr. Chaka Chukwumerije disclosed that the State government simplified the issuance of certificate of occupancy saying that the Ease of Doing Business is a promise Dr. Otti made to Abians, hence, “In Abia State,we have simplified the whole process of getting the land titles. We work with just a transaction time of 30 days”

 

.He said it is a one stop shop, adding that people should reach out to the Ministry through their customer  care, without agents.

 

Speaking also, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Chinedu Ekeke announced that increase in the Abia workers salaries is being worked out by the government. He added that government would tackle the outstanding arrears of Leave Allowances owed workers in the State sequentially.

 

Contributing, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Legislative Matters, Hon Luke Ukara -Onyeani asserted that the Abia House of Assembly is peaceful and united, adding that the signing into law of the Greater Aba Development Authority would give impetus to the development of Aba as the commercial and economic hub of the State.