The Cross River State House of Assembly on Tuesday approved a N642 billion supplementary budget for the 2025 fiscal year, representing a 26% increase over the original N538 billion budget passed in December 2024.
The initial budget, tagged Budget of Sustainable Growth, was expanded to accommodate critical expenditures not captured earlier. Lawmakers said the increase was driven by Governor Bassey Otu’s commitment to infrastructural development across the state’s 18 local government areas.
Presenting the Finance and Appropriation Committee’s report, Chairman Okon Owuna explained that the supplementary budget addresses new obligations, emergency spending, and recently approved strategic programmes requiring immediate funding. He added that improved revenue prospects from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), grants, and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) provided fiscal space for the adjustments.
The budget introduces upward revisions across key sectors including Administration, Economic, Law and Justice, Regional, and Social services. Owuna commended the state government for following constitutional provisions by passing a supplementary appropriation law rather than amending the original budget downward, as was common in the past.
Speaker Elvert Ayambem said the supplementary budget prioritises citizens’ welfare and ensures that projects in all local government areas are captured to drive the state’s transformation.
