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By Etim Etim

I attended Gov. Umo Eno’s budget presentation at the state House of Assembly yesterday, the second time I would be at such a session since 1999. The first was in 2010 during the administration of Godswill Akpabio. The budget then was around N300 billion, a far cry from the N955 billion presented by Umo Eno as the 2025 appropriation estimates.

In real value, the two figures might just be equal, given the deep inflation we have been enduring in almost two years. The 2025 estimates are a meagre 3% increase from the 2024 revised budget. Of the N955 billion, N300 billion is for recurrent while N655 billion is for capital expenditure (capex), indicating the administration’s focus on big-ticket infrastructures and investments. Road will receive attention and they will take up to N250 billion of the N655 billion capex.

The governor said his administration was currently executing 156 road projects across the state, made up of 57 big roads and 11 community roads he initiated; 37 big roads and 51 community roads inherited from the previous administration which he is still funding. Last night, I listened to a mild debate among some friends: If a governor initiates a road project and does not pay for it; but his successor come in, pay the contractor and to get the job done, who should take credit for the job?

Like all budgets, the 2025 financial proposal contains many plans and proposals the government intends to execute across all sectors, one of which is the completion of the abandoned 10,000-capacity convention center at the Tropicana Complex. Initiated by the Akpabio administration in 2008, the Convention Centre was abandoned at the foundation stage. The rumour then was that it was discontinued because it was later discovered that the soil condition at the site was not suitable for such a mega project. I found it difficult to believe the story because such big ticket projects are always preceded by appropriate soil tests. Clearly, the rumour was unfounded. On his first anniversary celebration in May, Eno had also pledged to complete the 15-storey hotel at the Tropicana and initiate work on a new shopping complex along the Third Ring Road. The government is building a block of luxury apartments along Uruan Street in Uyo, as well as other real estate developments, including Aviation Village and other housing projects in Uyo, Abuja and Lagos.

Rebuilding old government-owned buildings in Abuja and Lagos into functional modern assets is an integral part of the administration’s economic agenda. At the budget session, the governor announced that his administration has identified and recovered 10 such buildings in Lagos and Abuja. ‘’Some are located on Broad Street, Ajose Adeogun Street and Simpson Street in Lagos, and one is in the central business district in Abuja, near the Federal Ministry of Finance. We shall turn the one in Abuja into a four-star hotel’’, he said. I know the building on Ajose Adeogun Street in Victoria Island, Lagos. In fact, I was there when it was commissioned in 1992 by the then Military Governo, but I didn’t even know that the government has property on Simpson and Broad Streets. Last month, the governor flagged off the construction of an 18-storey luxury apartment complex in Victoria Island, Lagos. Investing in high-yielding real estate business, the governor said, will improve the state’s revenue and position its economy for a future without crude oil. I should, however, note that these projects will not be completed in a budget cycle. Sequencing them over the next several years within budgetary limitations is key.

Many have said that instead of real estates, the government should have put money in agriculture and its value chain. The budget addresses that comprehensively with a list of what has been done and what should be expected in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure, security and others. He mentioned the Songhai Farming Model which is being implemented in the state, and noted that it will reposition the State for tourism, conferences and training hub for improved farming practices. He also spoke on other critical issues like the controversial crisis at the Presbyterian Senior Science College, Ididep. Eno said that while the government is fully responsible for the tuition fees of students, payment of adequate boarding fees is the duty of parents. He said: ‘’feeding students in boarding schools is the responsibility of parents, and no principal should perform the duty of a boarding master. Government has never promised to feed any student and it would not be stampeded to do so.

He stressed that parents should take responsibility for feeding their children in boarding house; after all, if these children were to be in the house, the parents would feed them. Boarding is optional in our school system ’’. The import of this is that parents should be willing to pay more for boarding of their kids, and principals should not dabble into food procurements. It’s an oblique reference to the corruption in the system which I addressed in my last article. He warned that government will shut down schools where such nefarious activities occur.

On Ibom Power, Gov. Eno said the government has undertaken a detailed technical audit of operations of Ibom Plant and is reviewing the recommendations of the report for implementation. There would be a major restructuring of the organization and operations of the plant. ‘’We have identified some operational risks including gas supply security, equipment availability and due inspections for which a program is being developed. There are challenges that we are detailing on a phased basis. The financials will be subject of some subsequent future engagement’’, he said.

The government should consider privatizing the plant to derive optimum value to the state. ​There is also hope for Ibom Deep Sea Port, a project the people are full of expectations for. Eno said the government has conducted a comprehensive feasibility study on Ibom Deep Seaport where onside Geo technical and Geo physical environmental scoping, port design options, amongst others have been undertaken. The next stage is for the government as project sponsor to proceed to the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) which is a crucial step in planning of complex engineering projects. Meantime, access road to the facility has been opened.

There’s practically something for every segment of the society in the 2025 budget, but let me conclude on the issue of gratuity payment. Pastor Eno said yesterday that his administration has paid over N37 billion out of N85.2 billion ‘’we met when we came in, as gratuities to retired civil servants, local government and teachers in the State. We are committed to liquidating all the backlog of gratuities in line with our campaign promises’’. Does it mean that previous administrations were not meeting this obligation?