The Cross River State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed a supplementary budget of N642.16 billion for the 2025 fiscal year.

This follows the earlier approval of the state’s 2025 Appropriation Law on December 24, 2024, with an initial budget size of N538.52 billion tagged “Budget of Sustainable Growth.” The new appropriation represents a N142.03 billion (26%) increase.

According to the Assembly, the upward review was driven by Governor Bassey Otu’s commitment to infrastructural development across the state’s 18 local government areas.
Presenting the report, Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Hon. Okon Nyong Owuna, said the supplementary budget was necessary to cover critical expenses not captured in the original plan. These include new obligations, emergency spending, strategic programmes requiring immediate funding, and an improved revenue outlook from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), grants, and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Owuna noted that the additional funds will be channelled to key sectors including Administration, Economic, Law and Justice, Regional, and Social development.
He commended the Otu administration for following constitutional provisions on supplementary budgets, contrasting it with past practices of downward budget reviews and amendments to the Appropriation Law.

In his remarks, Speaker Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem said the supplementary budget prioritises the welfare of citizens, with projects in all local government areas aimed at transforming the state.