The Executive Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has presented a total estimates of One Trillion, One Hundred and Eighty-Eight Billion, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Two Million, Seven Hundred and Thirty-Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Two Niara, Thirty-Six Kobo (N1,188,962,739,932.36) before the Rivers House of Assembly for consideration as budget for 2025 Fiscal Year.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Jumbo and Gov Fubara of Rivers State
The Governor christened the proposals as “2025 ‘Budget Of Inclusive Growth and Development’, maintained that the presentation to the Rt Hon Victor Oko-Jumbo led 10th State House of Assembly, is in furtherance of his
administration’s mission to serve the State, advance its development, and deliver sustainable improvements in the well-being of all residents.
Rt. Hon. Jumbo
Before giving details on the 2025 proposals, Gov. Fubara has told the House that the 2024 Budget of
N800,392,485,433.01, met 100% implementation in both recurrent and capital provisions.
“In all, we met both revenue and expenditure targets and substantially achieved our budget objectives for 2024 in expectations, performances, and project delivery despite the macro-economic challenges of the national economy, including the high inflation, the devaluation of the naira, and the prolonged political crisis”, he noted.
On the 2025 outlook, Gov. Fubara said the two components of the budget constitute, “Recurrent Expenditure which is N462,254,153,418.98, Capital Expenditure of N678,088,433,692.03, Planning Reserve of N35,688,864,931.16, and closing balance of N12,931,287,890.19
“This gives a Recurrent to Capital expenditures ratio of 44:56% indicating the sincere commitment of our administration to both infrastructural and human capital development of our people and state.”
The policy objective, he emphasised, is premised on assumptions including an, “Oil price benchmark of $80 per barrel, Oil production rate of 1.8 million barrels per day, Naira to US dollar exchange rate of 1500/1 and 22% inflation rate.
“We are also projecting improved contributions from the non-oil sectors to the national economy, including substantial receipts from value-added and exchange gains.
“In addition, we are projecting a GDP growth rate of 3.18% for the State, increasing internally generated revenue to not less than 35% of the total Budget, and reducing the fiscal deficit by limiting if not outright freezing resort to domestic borrowing for budget funding and augmentation.
“Furthermore, we shall expand our internal tax base by bringing more people into the tax net and save money where we can and invest more in the critical sectors that will strengthen the State’s economic foundations and enhance our development.”
According to the Governor, the huge budget, the highest on annals of the state, will be funded from multiple sources including projected Internally Generated Revenue of N264,368,639,654.59,
Statutory Allocation (N18,202,545,782.33), Mineral funds (N132,172,838,156.03),
Value Added Tax (N204,262,019,866.24) and
Refunds Escrow, Paris/ECA (N31,200,000,000.00).
Other sources he listed include,
Refunds from bank charges N27,500,000,000.00, Excess Crude Account (N20,600,000,000.00), Exchange rate gain (N25,244,020,674.39), Forex equalization (N50,000,000,000.00) and Other FAAC (50,000,000,000.00) among others to make the projected
N1,188,962,739,932.37 total expenditure.
The breakdown on the N462,254,153,418.98
Recurrent Expenditure captured votes for Personnel Emolument N169,668,205,260.86, New Recruitments (N49,137,254,525.70), Overhead costs (N20,135,590,136.00), Grants, contributions and subsidies (N9,600,000,000.00), Counterpart pension scheme (N15,000,000,000.00) and more.
On the total N678,088,433,692.03, Capital Expenditure, the sectoral spread captured, N213,585,509,623.75 earmarked for Governance, N3,404,986,385.31 to take care of Information and Communication, N21,110,915,588.89 voted for
Public Administration with Finance and Planning taking N11,143,591,806.45, Agriculture N30,954,421,684.60, Infrastructure N195,074,765,456.35 and Judiciary, Law and Justice N8,605,329,228.31 among others.
He emphasised, “Besides aligning with our fiscal reality, the 2025 budget prioritizes the fundamental objectives of building a secure, prosperous and resilient State with inclusive economic growth, sustainable development, and improved standards of living for everyone.”
Fubara also vowed to leverage public-private partnerships and reduce reliance on loans, projecting significant contributions from non-oil sectors to bolster revenue.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for being prudent in the management of the State’s resources to the point of increasing the revenue in the past year with over N100billion and expressed confidence that he will perform excellently in the coming year.
The Speaker further assured the Governor of the support of the Assembly to ensure that he delivers the dividends of democracy to the people of Rivers State as articulated in the budget.
2025 BUDGET: A ROADMAP FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
The N1.18 trillion budget comprises N462.25 billion for recurrent expenditure and N678.08 billion for capital projects, representing a 44:56 percent ratio. The Governor emphasized the budget’s focus on agriculture, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and job creation, aimed at reducing socio-economic inequality and boosting economic prosperity.
Key Allocations:
Agriculture: Nearly N31 billion to transform farming, create jobs, and ensure food security.
Education: Over N63 billion to enhance access to quality education at all levels.
Healthcare: A massive N97.75 billion to improve health services statewide.
