Chime presents N96.7bn budget for 2015

Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has presented a budget estimate of N96,735,300,000 for 2015 to the state House of Assembly for approval.

This represents a N2,987,300,000 or three percent increase from the 2014 budget of N93,748,000,000. A total of N54,939,980,211 was earmarked for capital expenditure, representing 56.8 percent, while N41,795,319,789 is for recurrent expenditure.

Works and infrastructure received the lion share of N14.9 billion to be deployed mainly for the completion of ongoing projects and payment of liabilities to contractors.

Education sector got N6.1 billion, while health and agriculture received N4.9 billion and N4.3 billion, respectively. N2.9 billion went to the water sub-sector with commerce and industry, tourism, sports, security, environment, housing, transportation, rural also receiving substantial allocations.

Review

Reviewing last year’s budget, Governor Chime said the state recorded remarkable successes in all sectors, noting that the 332 kilometres of rural roads constructed by the government had enhanced inter-connectivity and drastically reduced travel times from the 17 council headquarters to Enugu as they could now be easily accessed by road.

He said: “With 295 kilometres of roads completed in Enugu and Nsukka urban cities, not many of our people, today, remember the pains of moving around some seven years back. We were voted in to bring about good times and we have done our best to do just that.”

Noting that the budget presentation was the last he would make as governor of the state, Chime said: “When I took office in 2007, we visited all the 472 communities in the state and identified the key development needs of our people as chosen by them.

“The good news is that all the communities have had some or all of their chosen projects executed. We are committed to completing and handing over the various ongoing urban and inter-local government roads, which are currently at various stages of completion.”

He thanked the state House of Assembly for the support given to his administration adding, “today’s event fills me with immense pride of what we have achieved as a united team stitched together by destiny.

“The credit belongs to all of us: the executive, legislature and judiciary. More importantly, the bigger credit goes to all our people. All I can offer is to say thank you to all concerned.”