Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, proposed a budget estimate of N483,173, 307,096.00, for 2022 fiscal year to the State’s House of Assembly for consideration.
Wike said the budget christened, “Budget of Consolidation”, would focus on the state’s quest for greater economic growth and fiscal consolidation, enhancing jobs and wealth creation, building first-rate economic infrastructure, and achieving equity and social protection through poverty reduction and economic inclusiveness.
The governor while presenting the 2022 appropriation bill on Friday, December 3, 2021, said his administration succeeded significantly in managing the resources of the state by building a strong economy.
He noted that tangible growth figures were also posted consistently, which is in excess of 5% year-in-year-out, especially for the last two years.
Wike said: “Within Nigeria, our economy is not only stronger than 90 percent of the other States; it has continued to perform better than most others in terms of real economic growth, fiscal consolidation, debt-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio, and Internal Revenue Generation.
“The 2022 budget is crafted within the framework of the State’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework, the State’s Economic Strategy Paper, the national economic outlook, and the State’s economic growth projections coupled with the various development instruments and programmes.”
He said the projected recurrent expenditure is N144, 764,818,977.00, which represents about 30% of the total budget size for 2022 fiscal year, adding that the projected estimate for capital expenditure is 314, 903,108,116.00, which represents about 65% of the total budget size.
The governor stated that the 2022 budget is pegged on the assumptions of the crude oil benchmark of USD 50 per barrel, National crude oil production estimates of 1.7 million barrel per day; Currency exchange rate of N410 to the Dollar; Gross Domestic Product growth rate of between 3 percent for the medium term; and Inflation rate of 13.5 percent.
“Although this is yet another ambitious projection given the challenges of the national economy, we believe we would be able to successfully implement the capital because it is backed by a concrete plan of action and within achievable limits.”
Wike further explained that over half of the capital budget estimate is targeted at the economic and social sectors, listing the main items of the scheduled capital spending in the 2022 budget to include Agriculture, Roads, bridges, healthcare, education, social welfare, justice delivery, sports, youth and women empowerment, and human security.
Source: Vanguard
