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Most states in Nigeria want to do a lot more projects in 2012 and their budget proposals are tailored towards achieving these goals

The annual ritual of budget presentation has been concluded by most of the nation’s 36 states with most of them promising to do a lot more projects in 2012. A common feature of the budgets is the allocation of more funds to capital projects.

 Lagos State’s budget for 2012 is the highest state budget in the country.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, governor of Lagos State,  plans to spend N491.941 billion in the state which prides itself as the Centre of Excellence and which is also the economic nerve centre of the country. The state’s 2012 budget is 15 percent higher than that of 2011 which was N445.18 billion. Capital projects was allocated N258.321 billion as against N233.606 billion for recurrent expenditures. One of the key projects which the Fashola administration wants to pursue during the 2012 fiscal year, is the completion of the ongoing 10-lane Lagos-Badagry Expressway and light rail.

 He also intends to upgrade new and old roads in the state, improve facilities in the health and education sector and complete ongoing housing schemes in Gbagada, Ikeja, Ojokoro and Igbogbo in Ikorodu.

For Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan’s 2012 estimate of N437 billion which he called “Budget of Industrialisation” is the second highest in volume after Lagos. It is also N197 billion higher than last year’s estimate of N240.5 billion which was presented by Sam Obi, then acting governor of the state. Like Lagos, capital projects are taking a lion share of the budget with an allocation of N256.371 billion while N180.846 billion is for recurrent expenditures. Uduaghan said the thrust of the budget is the enhancement of economic growth and sustainable pace of development in the state.

Rivers State Budget of “Resource Utilisation” also falls within the N400 billion bracket. Rotimi Amaechi, governor of the state, is proposing a budget of N427 billion made up of N314.251 billion and N112.73 billion capital and recurrent expenditures, respectively. The focus of the budget which is N11.9 billion higher than that of last year is the completion of all ongoing projects within the life span of his administration. Employment generation, economic empowerment, improvement of facilities in the education, health and power sectors would be the cardinal focus of the budget.

He explained that the budget would be financed by N238 billion from the federation account; N65 billion from internally generated revenue; N12 billion payments from recovered oil wells, unspent balance of N12 billion and proposed bond of N100 billion.

Amaechi’s administration has over the years embarked on the upgrading and transformation of primary and secondary schools in the state. In furtherance of his agenda of providing a conducive environment for learning, education has the lion share of N71.5 billion, followed by N25 billion earmarked to develop the power sector and N21.49 billion for health.

For Akwa Ibom State where Godswill Akpabio is the governor, the focus of the budget of N397.141 billion which he tagged: “Budget of industrilisation” is the transformation of the state. Unlike other states, Akpabio has allocated over 70 percent of the budget to capital projects.

A breakdown of the budget shows that N66.244 billion and N330.897 billion are for recurrent and capital expenditure, respectively, while projected revenue is N263.777 billion.  Akpabio said the 2012 budget would be a veritable tool for the realisation of the industrialisation agenda of his second term administration and would be used to enhance the economic growth as well as sustain the pace of development so as to improve the standard of living of the people. “The policy thrust of the 2012 budget is predicated on continuous transformation of Akwa Ibom State through a multi-sectoral approach to increase productivity, generate more employment opportunities, reduce poverty, create wealth, empower the youths and women and enhance the socio-economic welfare of our people,” Akpabio stated.

Some of the key projects which the Akpabio administration intends to complete this year include the third ring road with a flyover, security village, multi-purpose shopping mall, roads rehabilitation, building of cottage hospitals, upgrading of facilities in existing hospitals and public schools.

For Liyel Imoke, governor of Cross River State, the 2012 budget will serve as a litmus test for him as this is the year he will be seeking the mandate of the people of Cross River State for a second term.

Imoke intends to spend N144 billion this fiscal year in a budget he tagged: “Budget of Delivery.” He said despite the loss of N20 billion through oil wells deprivation, his administration would give exceptional attention to infrastructural development, health and agriculture. A breakdown of the budget shows that infrastructural development got N25.900 billion for the purpose of boosting roads construction, bridges, water and public transportation, against the N24.059 billion that was earmarked in 2011 for the sector. He said wealth and job creation drives of the government would be achieved through Imoke’s comprehensive transformation agenda agriculture sector require at least 50,000 hectares of arable land for commercial farming and establishment of an integrated agricultural project in each of the senatorial districts in the state for the purpose of creating job opportunities and developing entrepreneurial capacity among youths.

Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State has also presented a budget proposal of N118.77 billion for the 2012 fiscal year. Tagged: ‘Budget of Continuity’ the amount is higher than that of 2011 by N18.81billion or 18.82 percent which was at N99.95 billion.  In the new budget, N79.74 billion or 70.20 percent is for capital project while the recurrent expenditure is N33.86 billion or 29.80 percent of the total budget.

He said 2011 budget was judiciously utilised to provide needed services to people in the state and that government would continue to give priority to education, agriculture, infrastructural development and the health sectors in the new fiscal year.

Sule Lamido, governor of Jigawa State, presented a budget of N104.4 billion for the 2012 fiscal year. It is 35 percent higher than the 2011 approved budget. The budget also highlighted the government’s 2012-2014 medium-term plans, a development initiative under the state comprehensive development framework, which is the state home-grown socio-economic transfor-mation and reform agenda.

He noted that the high percentage of the budget would be financed from allocations from the federation account. The aggregate capital expenditure estimates planned for the 2012 fiscal year is N53.71 billion which is just a little over half of the total proposed budget while the recurrent expenditure is more than N46.8 billion. According to him, education sector has N29.3 billion, which is the largest allocation, representing 7.3 percent of the total estimate, followed by Ministry of Works and Transport that has N24.4 billion and ministry of health, which received more than N12 billion.

Lamido said that priority has been given to the agriculture and food security, roads and transport development, rural electrification and other empowerment programmes.

To step-up investment in this sector, Lamido said 51percent of the proposed capital expenditure programmes equivalent to exactly N27.2 billion would be expended on the various projects and programmes.

Adams Oshiomhole, governor of Edo State, will present himself for re-election this year. He has budgeted N148.87 billion for 2012, which he hopes to use to fast-track the infrastructural development agenda.

 Abiola Ajimobi, governor of Oyo State, has also presented a budget of N160.6 billion which he called “Budget of Restoration.” The budget which is 8.4 percent higher than the provision  of N144.1 billion presented by his predecessor has N87.9 billion allocated for capital expenditure and N45.3 billion for recurrent expenditure. The thrust of his budget is the provision of infrastructure and social amenities. He is also seeking N50 billion from the capital market this year to help him finance the proposal.

Jonah Jang, governor of Plateau State, who has been grappling with the sectarian crises in Jos, the Plateau State capital since his first tenure, presented a budget of N122 billion. Like most other states, he followed a familiar pattern of allocating a higher percentage of the budget for recurrent expenditure which is N75.3 billion as against N67.7 billion for capital projects. Inspite of the security challenges which prompted the federal government to declare a state of emergencies in five local governments of the state, Jang’s 2012 budget is anchored on a 10 – point agenda with focus on aggressive internal and external revenue drive, mobilisation of human and material resources for development.

Taraba State’s 2012 budget of N73.9 billion is predicated on a N19.3 billion deficit emanating from the loan component of the state’s capital receipts. The budget which is seven percent higher than that of 2011 is made of N38.3 billion allocation for capital expenditures and N35.6 billion for recurrent expenditures.

Other states that have presented their budgets include Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kogi, Ogun, Benue, Kano, Anambra and Ondo. However, the major challenges confronting the states are the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage and the recent increase in the pump price of petrol from N65 per litre to N97 per litre.

Most of the states made provision for the N18, 000 minimum wage but the sudden increase in fuel price due to the removal of fuel subsidy may affect the projection of the states because of the high cost of transportation and cost of living thrown up by the new fuel price. But some governors are already initiating palliatives to especially cushion the high cost of transportation.

 Uduaghan of Delta State, is one of such governors. He recently launched 100 mass transit buses to ease transport difficulties of the people of the state. Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has also gone into collaboration with transporters to float mass transit scheme in the state to complement the services of Akwa Ibom Transport Corporation. But there is no doubt that the hike in fuel price will alter the budget projections of many states and further deepened their initial challenge of paying the minimum wage.

The budgets look good and promising. But will they be implemented? That has always been the bane of budgeting by governments in Nigeria. Whether the situation will be different this time around remains to be seen. And this will be at the end of the year.