Delta Commissioner for Economic Planning, Dr. Barry Pere-Gbe, on Thursday, said about 80 per cent of the 2022 budget of the state would be channelled towards the completion of ongoing projects in the state.

Dr. Pere-Gbe disclosed this at the resumed budget defence by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state, adding that the projections for the 2022 Fiscal year has shown an estimated 10 per cent growth from the 2021 approved budget of N383.95 billion.

According to him, the increase was occasioned among other factors, by the establishment of three new universities in the state.

The Commissioner who was addressing newsmen shortly after the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, took his turn to present the estimated budget of his ministry, envisaged a N425 billion tentative 2022 budget after interacting with ten MDAs during the budget defence held at the Conference Room at the Felix Ibru State Secretariat.

‘’In line with the principles of participatory democracy, we interact with the public and also with the MDAs. We believe that budgeting should be a bottom-up approach in governance. This means that it should come from the people.

“The Okowa administration is a government that is intending to finish strong. We have just the 2022 budget to look at and so the engagements have enabled us to know the build-up towards what we will be finishing with.

“It is a budget that will be N425 billion tentatively which is a growth from the 2021 budget. In the year 2022, we will be able to complete so many of the facilities across the three new universities. The budget size of the Ministry of Higher Education will grow far beyond what it is today.

“I expect a 200 per cent growth in subsequent budget to complete a lot of the facilities in the new universities so that we can pursue accreditations in the institutions,” Pere-Gbe said.

Having presented the budget estimates for his Ministry (Information), Aniagwu said that the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration favoured a bottom-up approach in preparing the 2022 budget to capture the aspirations of the people.

During his presentation, the Information Commissioner submitted an audacious budget proposal which, he said, was intended to reposition the state media outfits and their coordinating ministry, and also consolidate on the legacies of Governor Okowa for posterity.

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