ABIA`S BUDGET OF ACCELERATION AND NEW POSSIBILITIES
By Emeka Nwosu, PhD.
On Tuesday, the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, presented the State`s 2026 budget proposal to the House of Assembly. The package was aptly titled the “budget of acceleration and new possibilities”, signaling a resolve to step up the momentum of development activities in the coming financial year.
A careful scrutiny of the budget proposal shows a government that is ambitious, determined and poised to take the State to greater heights. The total outlay of the budget says it all. The government is proposing to spend a total of One Trillion Sixteen Billion Two Hundred and Twenty Eight Million Seventy Two Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty One Naira Ninety Nine Kobo (N1, 016, 228, 072, 651.99) only.
This represents a 13 percent increase from the 2025 Budget which stood at Seven Hundred and Fifty Billion Two Hundred and Eight Two Million Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N750, 382, 200, 000) only.
This is the first time Abia State is joining States like Lagos and Rivers in the trillionaire club. In continuation of its commitment to the infrastructural transformation of Abia, the government is committing 80 percent of the entire budget to capital projects. This is consistent with the tradition which Governor Otti established in his maiden budget in 2024 which stood at N567.2 billion. Out of this, the total sum of N475.57 billion was allocated to capital projects, representing 84 percent of the entire budget.
In the current budget, the huge sum of N811.8 billion is devoted to capital projects, amounting to 80 percent of the entire budget outlay. This represents a 30 percent jump from the capital component of the 2025 budget which stood at N726.4 billion. The balance of N204.4 billion, representing 20 percent of the budget is for recurrent expenditures. The good news is that the 2026 recurrent expenditures are to be funded wholly from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) receipts without any recourse to FAAC allocation or loans.
The huge emphasis on capital expenditures by the Otti administration has made the difference in the breakthroughs so far recorded in the ongoing transformation of the geographical and socio-economic landscape of Abia State. Under the 2025 budget, so many landmark capital projects were executed including over 600 kilometers of strategic roads that were constructed, reconstructed and restored across the 17 LGAs of the State. Among the projects are the Port Harcourt Road and Ohanku Road in Aba, the 45 km Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Abiriba Highway, the on-going dualization of Onuimo-Abia Tower, the 30 km Arochukwu-Ozu Abam Road, the Owerrinta-Umuikaa-Umuene Road dualization, the Ohafia Arochukwu Road, and Nunya-Eluama Road in Isuikwuato LGA.
With the 80 percent of the 2026 budget allocated to capital expenditures, the implication is that the State would witness more upsurge in infrastructural development. Otti told the members of the House of Assembly that the key areas of emphasis in the 2026 budget are infrastructure, social services and security. It is against this background that the government is proposing to build 17 model primary and secondary schools and three technical colleges for vocational training programmes, and ICT Labs in more than 100 public schools.
It is also proposing to acquire 80 additional 40-seater electric buses to improve public transportation that is eco-friendly. The budget further made provision for the completion of the inter-modular transport terminals and bus shelters currently being undertaken in Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia.
The government is also planning to spend big in the area of road constructions. In this regard, a total of 16.7 percent of the budget, amounting to N169.3 billion has been allocated for road constructions, reconstructions, rehabilitation and maintenance. The Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road is one of the strategic roads captured in the budget.
Under the social sector, education and health continue to command the attention of Governor Otti. The education sector received the highest allocation, with 20 percent of the entire budget while the health sector got 15 percent. This reflects the continuing emphasis which Governor has continued to place on these vital sectors of the economy. Under the health sector, the government plans to reconstruct and renovate seven General Hospitals spread across the three senatorial zones of the State in addition to the upgrading and modernization of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH).
Governor Otti went ahead to identify the sources of funding for the budget which include IGR, Federal Allocations, VAT collections, Grants and Aids. The combined revenue projection was put at N607.2 billion, leaving a deficit of N409 billion, representing 40 percent of the budget. This is to be sourced from loan markets at concessionary rates, according to the Governor.
This budget, from all accounts, is going to impact profoundly on the economy of the State. A faithful implementation would certainly lead to massive job opportunities and circulation of funds in the State especially with regard to the expansive infrastructure planned for execution under the budget.
It is however observed that there was no provision for the Abia Airport project in the proposal as presented by Otti. Perhaps, it is in the details which the Commissioner of Finance may do well to make public.
May Abia continue to prevail!
Dr. Nwosu, a Public Policy Analyst, writes from Umuahia.
Email: cdnwosu2@gmail.com