The Chairman of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, Uche Ogalla, on Tuesday presented a budget estimate of ₦5,632,723,592 to the legislative council for the 2025 fiscal year.
Christened budget of Grassroot Transformation, it allocated a lion share of 53% to recurrent expenditure to ensure timely payment of workers salaries and efficient operation of government services.
The budget equally allocated 47% to capital projects to enable development of critical infrastructure which would improve the economic and social status of the people in the council area.
While presenting the budget to the Igbo-Eze North Legislative Council headed by the Leader, Hon. Celestine Ali Omeke, the local government chairman, Ogalla, explained that the 2025 budget is a roadmap for progress, aligned with the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) for 2025-2029 which according to him , was developed with support from UNICEF and the Enugu State Government.
He further explained that the budget prioritized education, healthcare, agriculture , infrastructure and market development amongst other key areas of focus.
While lauding the state Governor, Barr. Peter Mbah for providing adequate security in the state, he stated that sustainable development will become elusive in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity.
“This budget, themed “A Budget of Grassroots Transformation,” reflects our unwavering commitment to transforming our local government into a thriving and prosperous community where every citizen enjoys a high quality of life.
“The past few years have witnessed significant strides in our development journey. Let me especially appreciate my predecessors, especially the immediate past, Hon Prince William Ejike Itodo, who under his tenure as Executive chairman of Igbo-Eze North, undertook crucial initiatives in key sectors such as Education, Healthcare, Infrastructure, General Administration and Security.
“Of course, we have also faced some challenges, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic which negatively affected our local economy and that of Enugu State as a whole.
” Also, the current economic reforms of the federal government in trying to address the fiscal, monetary, and structural challenges which Nigeria has grappled with for decades, has equally affected us through rising cost of living and high rate of unemployment due to the deregulation of the price of Petrol and depreciation of our exchange rates,” council chairman equally said.
While giving the budget breakdown, he said” This budget with a size of ₦5,632,723,592 allocates 53% of the total budget to recurrent expenditure, ensuring the timely payment of salaries and the efficient operation of government services.
“A significant portion of the budget, 47%, is dedicated to capital projects, aimed at delivering tangible infrastructure and development projects that will have a lasting impact on the lives of our people.
“As for the Revenue Projections, the 2025 budget projects a total revenue of N5,632,723,592 billion. This includes:
Statutory Allocation: N1,000,000,000
Value Added Tax (VAT): N2,700,000,000
Excess Crude and other FAAC accruals: N1,900,000,000
Internally Generated Revenue (IGR): N32,673,592.
“We are committed to diversifying our revenue streams and enhancing our IGR generation capacity through innovative strategies.”
