The Akwa Ibom State Executive Council has approved a draft budget estimate of N955 billion for the 2025 fiscal year.
This was contained in a statement issued by the state Commissioner of Information, Ini Ememobong after the council’s meeting presided over by Governor Umo Eno on Wednesday.
A breakdown of the estimate shows that while N300bn is for recurrent expenditure, N655bn is for capital projects.
Compared to 2024, the recurrent expenditure represents a 14 per cent decrease while the capital expenditure is a 13 per cent increase.
It stated, “The meeting, chaired by the Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, started with the presentation of the 2024 supplementary estimates and the draft recurrent and capital budgets for 2025 by the Commissioner for Finance.
“The supplementary budget reflects savings of N8,922,513,000 and an augmentation of N82,414,029,890, incorporated into the 2024 Appropriation Bill.
“For the 2025 draft estimates, the proposed recurrent expenditure is N300,000,000,000, representing a 14% decrease from last year, while the capital expenditure is pegged at N655,000,000,000, reflecting a 13% increase compared to 2024.”
The statement further stated that the projected Internally-Generated Revenue is N80bn — a 28% rise over the 2024 figure, adding that the council approved both estimates and directed their submission to the State House of Assembly for legislative review and further action.
Also, the state Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Prof Eno Ibanga, presented a report on pothole assessment and repairs, assuring all that the state was on course to achieve a “no pothole” status.
The council also approved the implementation of a 65-year retirement age for non-academic staff of state-owned tertiary institutions, effective from January 1, 2025, while it approved the award of road projects in the three senatorial districts across the state.