Imoke presents N144.6bn budget to Assembly

The Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, on Wednesday presented a budget proposal of N144.6bn for the 2012 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly.Imoke, while presenting the appropriation bill in Calabar, said if passed into law, the budget would consolidate on the gains achieved by his administration in the 2011 fiscal year through Internally Generated Revenue.He said the budget, which is christened; "Budget of Delivery" would further enhance the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of the state.The governor said the in-flow projections of the proposed budget were derived from N25.9bn from internal sources; N65.2bn, capital receipts; and N39.2bn, federal sources.According to the governor, the economic sector will take 47 per cent of the budget size or N68.2bn for both total and capital expenditure; social services, 25 per cent orN36.3bn; and regional development, 10 per cent or N13.68bn.General administration is to gulp 10 per cent with a total of N26.35bn allocated to that sector.Recurrent expenditure is to gulp N60.04bn, while capital expenditure will take N84.62bn.The governor said the economic sector was given priority attention because "it takes significant proportion of our activity and is expected to stimulate real growth and create a productive value chain."The components of the economy, according to him include agriculture, forestry and environment, tourism development, infrastructural development, transport (roads/bridges), investment promotion, rural roads and electrification.Imoke said each of these would be given improved status to enhance the overall growth of the states economy.On the social services sector, the governor said, "Priority will be accorded the education sub-sector; health care delivery system; and information and orientation with a boost to enable the Nigerian Chronicle go daily next year, while social development, youth and sporting activities will also be boosted."
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