The Cross River State House of Assembly has approved a N642 billion supplementary budget for the 2025 fiscal year, representing a 26% increase over the original budget passed in December 2024.
The initial 2025 appropriation, tagged “Budget of Sustainable Growth”, was valued at N538 billion. Lawmakers said the upward review was driven by Governor Bassey Otu’s commitment to accelerating infrastructural development across the state’s 18 Local Government Areas.
Presenting the report on Tuesday, Chairman of the Assembly’s Finance and Appropriation Committee, Okon Owuna, explained that the supplementary budget was necessary to accommodate “several critical expenditures” not captured in the initial appropriation.
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.”
According to him, the adjustment affects sectors including Administration, Economic, Law and Justice, Regional and Social. He added that the budget will be financed through IGR, aids and grants, and the Federal Account Allocation Committee.
Commending the state government’s approach, Owuna noted:
“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.”
Speaker of the Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, assured that the additional funds will directly benefit citizens.
“Projects in all the Local Government Areas have been duly captured to transform the State,” he said.
