Mbah signs N971b 2025 budget, pledges diligent implementation

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Enugu State, Dr Kingsley Udeh (left); Clerk of the Enugu State House Assembly, Dr Emma Udaya; Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah; Speaker of the House of Assembly, Uchenna Ugwu, and Deputy Speaker, Ezenta Ezeani, during the signing of the 2025 Appropriation Law, at the Government House, Enugu…yesterday.

The Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has signed the N971 billion 2025 Appropriation Bill into law, vowing that his administration would diligently implement the budget to achieve the target of economic growth and inclusive prosperity for the state.

The budget comprises N837.9 billion capital expenditure, representing 86 per cent of the budget, and a recurrent expenditure component of N133.1 billion, representing only 14 per cent of the budget, with education getting N320.6 billion, representing over 33 per cent and the largest share of the total budget for the second consecutive year.

Appending his signature to the document in a brief ceremony witnessed by members of the Enugu State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Uchenna Ugwu, yesterday, Mbah thanked the lawmakers for the speedy passage of the budget, describing it as a massive Christmas gift to the people of the state.

Mbah 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. If look at the development model we have adopted, it considers the development challenges we have across our state, because, as I have always said, we are only as good as our weakest link. So, we have a responsibility to make sure that nobody and no section of the state is left out.

“Again, in terms of growth, we recognised very early that marginal growth or incremental growth model will not cut it for us. The rest of the world will not wait for us, and development is not something that you wish to exist. You must be very intentional about it. So, our growth strategy is the one that adopts an exponential growth model.

In his reaction, Speaker Ugwu attributed the sustenance and early passage of the budget figures proposed by the governor to the involvement of the parliament in the budget preparation.

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