Peter Mbah signs N971bn budget, pledges exponential growth for Enugu

Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, has signed the state’s N971 billion appropriation bill into law.

Mbah signed the bill on Tuesday after it was passed by the house of assembly.

The governor had presented the budget estimate for 2025 to the legislature in November.

The budget allocates N837.9 billion to capital expenditure, representing 86 percent of the total; while recurrent expenditure accounts for N133.1 billion, or 14 percent.

Assenting to the bill, the governor thanked assembly members for their swift passage, calling it a “huge Christmas gift” to the people of Enugu.

“What we proposed in the budget that you graciously passed, and we signed into law, is going to boost our efforts and that march to our desired destination, which is that no person or child of this state will go to bed hungry,” he said.

“What we are witnessing here today is democracy in action. We christened our budget: ‘Budget of Exponential Growth and Inclusive Prosperity’, because it is at the heart of everything we do in the state.”

The governor said his administration adopted an exponential growth model to drive development. 

“If you look at the development model adopted, it is one that takes into account the development challenges we have across our state because, as I have always said, we are only as good as our weakest link,” he added.

“So, we have a responsibility to make sure that nobody and no section of the state is left out.”

Uchenna Ugwu, speaker of the assembly, attributed the swift passage to lawmakers’ involvement in its preparation.

“We were part of the process that produced those figures in the first place because we were carried along,” he said.

“We did not have to change anything because behind closed doors, we had done the job already before the budget was presented.

“So, there is no point in changing anything. The assurance to Ndi Enugu is that we shall continue to have it good.”

Ugwu commended Mbah for implementing the 2024 budget and pledged that the house would exercise oversight to ensure the effective execution of the 2025 budget.

“Now, if you look around Enugu, you can see the development that is happening everywhere in all sectors, including the education sector, health sector, the tourism sector, the road infrastructure, and indeed everything,” the speaker said.

“It means that the governor’s promise to reduce poverty headcount to zero in Enugu state is realistic, and if you look at the budget, you can see that the information in the budget is akin to achieving that.”

Members of the assembly, including Ezenta Ezeani, the deputy speaker, attended the event.