BEN Ayade, the Governor of Cross River State has slashed the state’s annual budget from initial N1.1 trillion he christened budget of ‘Olipotic Meristemasis’ to N147 billion.
Asuquo Ekpeyong jnr, the state Commissioner for Finance, disclosed this while addressing journalists on Monday.
Ekpeyong said the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the review of the budget as well as the need to effort to cushion its effect on citizens of the state.
“The Cross River State government had thought it imperative to do some economic policies and measures in order to forestall this hardship and cushion the effect of the pandemic,” he said.
“The budget has been submitted to the Cross River State House of Assembly for its consideration, review and possible resolutions, the budget that has been submitted has a revised figure of 2020 Original Budget Figure of N147, 130, 166, 966,” Ekpeyong explained.
He added that the budget review exercise had the participation and inputs of Ministry, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the state.
According to Ekpeyong, the fall in federal revenue and allocation of expenditure to COVID-19 responses triggered the review of the budget by the state government.
The ICIR had reported that the N1.1 trillion budget of the Cross Rivers was unrealistic considering the current state internal revenue and debt burden before the COVID-19.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94