2024 Budget: Economic development commissioner seeks inclusion of ministry’s statutory revenue
• Mr Emem Bob
Itoro Bassey
The Commissioner for Economic Development in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Emem Bob, on Monday, expressed his concerns over the omission of the Economic Development Levy (EDL), a statutory revenue head of the ministry, from the 2024 budget.
Bob urged the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to promptly rectify this oversight, which he deemed detrimental to the economic health of the state.
Simultaneously, Bob made a significant plea for an allocation of N180,000,000 from his ministry’s total budget outlay of N12,080,863,000 for the 2024 fiscal year. The funds, according to the commissioner, are earmarked for critical initiatives such as Food System Transformation Pathways (N100,000,000) and the Demographic Dividend Roadmap (N80,000,000).
During his appearance before the Finance and Appropriations Committee, Commissioner Bob defended the Ministry’s 2023 budget performance and presented the 2024 budget proposal.
He highlighted the Ministry’s key accomplishments in 2023, which included the production of the 2023 Citizen’s Budget, formulation of the 2024–2026 Medium–Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), and the preparation of the 2024 Capital Estimates proposal for Akwa Ibom State.
In addition, he underlined the Ministry’s role in maintaining the State Social Register (SSR), implementing the AK-CARES programme, and revitalising the department of International Cooperation, which facilitated peak activity with UNICEF, UNFPA, and the EU in Akwa Ibom State, among others.
The Commissioner outlined the Ministry’s priority projects for 2024, including the development of long-term/medium-term plans, the State Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (SIIMP), the Akwa Ibom State Economic Summit, and the preparation of the 2025-2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.
He said the Ministry also plans to sponsor research and development initiatives, expand the State Social Safety Nets Programme, continue implementation of AK-CARES programme, and invest in capacity building for professional personnel.
The proposed capital budget for 2024 allocates N12,080,863,000.00 to the Ministry of Economic Development, marking a 52.9% decrease from the revised 2023 allocation of N25,641,794,720.00.
Of the total budget sum for 2024, N7,643,698,230 (63.3%) is reserved votes which consists off personnel cost (N311,798,230) and overhead cost (N7,311,900,000), while N4,437,165,100 (36.7%) is allocated to core capital projects.
Despite the reduced allocation, the Ministry’s core capital expenditure for 2024 reflects a significant increase of 163.9% from the 2023 revised core capital provision of N1,681,432,510.
Commissioner Bob expressed his confidence in the committee’s ability to address the issues raised and thanked Governor Umo Eno for his unwavering commitment to the state’s economic transformation, as embodied in the government’s ARISE Agenda.
