…Roads get 387.5bn, N31.6bn for Education, Health Gulps N136.1bn
A total of N1,390,000,000,000 (One Trillion, Three Hundred and Ninety Billion Naira) has been proposed for the 2026 Financial Year in Akwa Ibom State.
Of this amount, N354.867 billion or 25% of total budget is for Recurrent Expenditure, while N1,035 Trn representing 75% of the budget goes for Capital Expenditure.
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pst. Umo Eno,PhD, who proposed these 2026 budget estimates before the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on Tuesday, explained that the budget represents a decrease of N260bn or 16percent from the revised 2025 budget.
The 2026 budget christened, “The People’s Budget of Expansion and Growth”, aims to cater for the needs of the people across the 3 senatorial districts and stems from the needs documents presented by respective stakeholders during the Town Square Meetings and Empowerment Series across the 10 federal constituencies in the State.
The capital expenditure estimate consists of N387.5 billion for Roads and other Infrastructure, N31.6 billion for Education and N136.1 billion for Health among others.
Additionally, the allocation of 75% of the total budget to capital expenditure is intentionally meant to accelerate and stimulate economic activities in the state in the 2026 fiscal year.
“I urge you to quickly pass this budget so we may continue to work for our people” he told the law makers reaffirming his commitment to the needs of the people of Akwa Ibom state”, Governor Eno appealed.
He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, “for that bold act he took by removing the petroleum subsidy which today, has made it possible for States to have more funds and resources to execute both recurrent and capital projects.”
Governor Eno maintained that his administration is on course with development for the people, “from agriculture to rural development, from infrastructure to security and educational advancements, tourism to healthcare, promotion of SMEs to sports, housing, transport among other key sectors.
“We are undertaking bold and audacious projects without borrowing and have earmarked resources to complete all the projects we have initiated. We thank the President again and assure him that to whom much is given, much is expected and we will deliver big for him come 2027.”
“As we speak, 69,107 (sixty-nine thousand one hundred and seven) farmers have benefited from our agricultural revolution; 13,060 registered farmers have benefited from Agric processing machines and equipment we have purchased for our farmers.
“The palm tree crop revolution, which we plan to launch soon, will create a generational wealth for our people, especially those in the rural areas. Through this revolution, government will actively get involved in palm tree planting and will eventually off-take from our farmers.”
“To make this project take off and run smoothly, I recently directed AKADEP, to be moved from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government and a massive renovation exercise is ongoing in the facility. I intend to visit the facility from this presentation. We have bought tractors to aid our farmers, we will commission the tractor leasing company in December.
“We remain intentional in ensuring that there are ongoing projects in all the 31 local government areas- from model primary schools to model healthcare centres, 78 new feeder roads, 30 wet markets, water projects, electricity etc, all in line with our desire to stem rural- urban migration and ensure a good quality of life for our rural dwellers.”
“Also, Government has made provision for one project each for the 31 Local Government Areas taken specifically from the NEEDS documents earlier submitted by the 10 Federal Constituencies of the State during our Town Square Meetings.
“The outcome of this budget is based on citizens inputs documents as submitted to government during The State-Wide Town Square Meetings or Needs Assessment. In other words, it is a citizens-oriented budget.”
Governor Eno maintained that, “the policy thrust of the 2026 budget, which is titled THE PEOPLE’S BUDGET OF EXPANSION AND GROWTH will be anchored on the ARISE Agenda”, and will among other things, “Strengthen food security and sufficiency by expanding mechanized agriculture small-holder producers and promote value chains. Income earning potentials of rural households will be enhanced through home farm schemes, provision of access to farm inputs, credit and extension services as well as agro-processing support.
“The total Capital Receipts and Expenditure for the year 2026 is estimated at N1.035 trillion as against the approved revised provision of N1.224 trillion for 2025. A total projected Capital Receipts shows that N791.978 billion will be transferred from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, while the balance of N243.155 billion is to be realized from other capital receipts.”
The Governor maintained that the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, will as usual, provide additional details on the sectoral allocations, insisting that “the 2026 people’s budget for growth and expansion reflects the request made by the stakeholders of each of the 31 Local Government Areas during our Town Square Meetings.
“The funds allocated to each of these 31 projects will be disclosed by the Hon. Commissioner for Budget during his planned media briefing.”
He urged the speedily passage of the budget, assuring that “our governance compass, the Arise Agenda, is on a steady course, the achievements we have recorded in the past two years plus are inspiring. Let us continue to stay together in peace and in harmony so our people can thrive in this great Land of Promise.
In his response, the Speaker Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Elder Udeme Otong, commended the Governor on the presentation of the budget, saying it aligns with the State’s ARISE Agenda with emphasis on Agriculture, rural development, healthcare and other things.
He also thanked the governor on behalf of his colleagues, for his promise to remodel the AKHA complex.
“As the 2026 budget is laid before us today, we will, as always, examine it critically to ensure that it aligns with Your Excellency’s vision for our state, through effective oversight, we will ensure that the budget delivers on the promises to stimulate and grow the economy of our Akwa Ibom people.
“Our aim is not merely to approve figures, but to ensure efficient allocation of resources, elimination of waste, and duplication, centering of physical discipline, prioritising of projects that directly uplift the lives of our citizens, with the ARISE Agenda as our guiding framework, and with continued collaboration between the Executive and the Legislature, I am confident that our state is on the path to unprecedented growth and prosperity’, the Speaker added.
