Author: The Nation

• Governor unveils massive sector reforms, 1,200 roads, 20 aircraft for state

• Kogi Speaker assures of speedy action on Ododo’s N820.5b Budget proposal

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and his Kogi State counterpart, Ahmed Ododo, yesterday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bills to the states’ Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval.

Mbah presented N1.62 trillion budget proposal to the Enugu State House of Assembly, the highest in the history of the state, while Ododo presented N820.5 billion to the Kogi State House of Assembly. 

Mbah said his administration was shifting “from laying foundations to scaling transformation” across all sectors.

The 2026 budget proposal is 66.5 per cent higher than that of the outgoing year of N971 billion.

Tagged the “Budget of Renewed Momentum,” the fiscal plan earmarks N1.296 trillion (80 per cent) for capital expenditure and N321.3 billion (20 per cent) for recurrent spending.

Mbah said the budget comprises a Capital Expenditure of N1,296,092,465,000, representing 80 per cent of the total budget, and a Recurrent Component of N321,305,000,000, representing 20 per cent of the budget totalling N1,617,397,465,000.

The governor said the proposed budget would be funded through a projected N870 billion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), N387 billion from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), while N329 billion is expected as Capital Receipts.

A sectoral breakdown of the budget shows that the Economic Sector would get N825.9 billion, representing N51 per cent of the total budget, followed by the Social Sector (N644.7 billion), representing 40.1 per cent of the budget, while the Administration Sector, Justice Sector, and Regional Sector got N128 billion, N15.8 billion, and N2 billion, respectively.

“Allocating N825.9 billion to the Economic Sector is strategic and deliberate. When we invest in agriculture, industry, and trade, we create jobs, reduce poverty, and generate revenue that strengthens the entire economy. The performance of this sector remains central to our vision of achieving a seven-fold GDP growth in Enugu State,” he said.

Highlights of the Economic Sector include Roads/Infrastructure Sector, where the governor plans to construct 1,200 urban roads and a significant number of rural roads, while also completing the ongoing 40-kilometre Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu-Neke-Ikem dual carriageway, dualisation of the Abakpa Nike – Ugwogo Nike – Ekwegbe – Opi-Nsukka Road, and the 21.65-kilometre Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway.

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On Transportation, Mbah announced that the state would acquire 14 additional aircraft to bring Enugu Air’s fleet to 20, noting that three additional planes would arrive before the end of 2025.

The governor said his administration plans to build five more transport terminals in Emene, Udi, Awgu, Four-Corners (Ozalla) and Oboloafor. It also set aside 15 per cent of the budget for providing 15,000 mass housing units, while ramping up infrastructural development at the New Enugu City.

In the Agricultural sector, he said the administration would, among others, step up the construction of 20-hectare Farm Estates in the 260 wards of the state, with some already underway.

In the Social Sector, education got the lion’s share of 32.27 per cent of the entire budget, following patterns of 2024 and 2024 budgets where it got over 30 per cent.

Mbah explained that with the 260 Smart Green Schools already completed or nearing completion, the state would focus on the construction of Smart Secondary Schools and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Colleges across the state in 2026.

“There are some, who might look at what we spend on education and cringe. But what we spend currently on education is largely insignificant, weighed against the future social cost of having a disproportionate population of out-of-school children,” he explained.

He said his administration equally budgeted the sum of N20 billion to clear longstanding gratuities inherited by his administration, noting that “Our workers should not wait years to receive benefits they have earned.”

N11 billion was budgeted to, among others, fund the second phase of the administration’s security surveillance system, Health is to get 10 per cent of the total budget.

On the 2025 budget performance, Mbah said the administration spent about N806 billion.

“This means that we utilized 97.5 per cent of all the money that came into the state and achieved 83 per cent of the total budget implementation as against the revised budget of N871 billion,” he said.

In Kogi State, Governor Ododo presented a budget estimate of N820,490,585,443 for the House of Assembly to scrutinise and approve.

The governor said the budget estimate is N215,961,592,725 or 35.7 per cent more than the N604,528,992,718 revised budget of 2025.

He said the 2026 budget estimate has as its theme: Budget of Shared Prosperity: Driving Sustainable Growth For All.

Ododo said the budget estimate aims to, among others, enhance revenue mobilisation; enforce expenditure discipline and deepen strategic investments in growth sectors.

The governor said other aims include to aggressively repay Federal Government debts; strenghten the investment climate and block revenue leakages.

He said the 2026 Budget estimate has a total Recurrent Revenue of N470,008,482,693, comprising the following sources: Internally Generated (IGR) of N43,985,216,392; Statutory Allocation: N70,000,000,000; Value Added Tax (VAT) N90,000,000,000; and the NLNG Dividend: N160,336,270,062.

Ododo said: “The 2026 Draft Budget is more than a financial statement; it is a roadmap for inclusive growth, economic diversification and shared prosperity.”

House of Assembly Speaker Umar Aliyu assured the governor of a speedy and careful review of the estimate with a view to coming up with an approved budget that will be beneficial to the state and residents.