The State 2025 Supplementary Budget, worth N642 billion, was approved by the Cross River State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
Recall that on December 24, 2024, the Assembly approved the 2025 Appropriation, which included a N538 billion approved budget known as the “Budget of Sustainable Growth.”
As a result, the supplemental budget differs from the initially approved budget by 26%.
According to the lawmakers, Governor Bassey Otu’s dedication to the state’s 18 LGAs’ infrastructure development made the supplementary budget’s adoption necessary.
In his presentation of his committee’s report on Tuesday, Okon Owuna, the chairman of the Assembly’s Finance and Appropriation Committee, said that the supplemental budget was required to cover a number of important expenses that were not initially covered by the 2025 budget.
Owuna said, “The key factors necessitating the supplementary budget include new obligations and emergency spending not captured in the original budget, recently approved strategic programmes requiring immediate financial backing and improved outlook from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), internal grants and allocations from FAAC.
“These developments have provided the fiscal space to introduce additional expenditure across critical sectors.”
The Lawmaker informed that the supplementary budget introduced an upward adjustment across sectors like Administration, Economic, Law and Justice, Regional and Social, adding that the budget will be financed from IGR, Aids and Grants and Federal Account Allocation Committee.
Owuna also commended the State Government for adhering to the Constitution, stressing that, “It is with great joy that we observed that the Senator Bassey Edet Otu-led administration has brought us to the landscape of passing a supplementary budget as contemplated by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered).
“In the past, the House was faced with the downward review of each year’s budget, resulting in amendment of the Appropriation Law instead of passing a Supplementary Appropriation Law”, he emphasised.
In his reaction, the Speaker of the Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, reiterated that the supplementary budget is for the welfare of citizens, adding that projects in all the Local Government Areas have been duly captured to transform the State.
