. . . Says budget to address poverty and attract investments

. . . Workers purchasing power to rise

Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, says the state's N521.5bn 2024 budget, which he recently signed into law, will be financed through internally generated revenue (IGR).

Mbah, who also assured that the budget would be implemented to the letter, address lingering poverty, hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, while raising workers welfare and purchasing power, however called on the workers to be ready to put in their best.

The governor stated this at a Holy Mass held at the Government House Chapel, Enugu, to mark the commencement of work in the New Year and pray for God's blessings upon the state in 2024.

Mbah, who reiterated that only about 12 per cent of the ₦521 billion budget would be funded through borrowing, appealed to the people for more support through tax payment and protection of public assets.

“Now that we have this ambitious budget, which we are committed to implementing to the fullest, it is also for our people to continue to support the government. We must make sure that we protect government assets. They are our assets. We should not vandalise or steal government assets because you would only be cutting your nose to spite your face when you do so, as they belong to the people of Enugu State.

“We also encourage our people to pay their taxes, and they will see what the tax money that is being paid is used for.

“As you know, a lot of this spending is going to come from mobilising domestic revenue. We do not intend to borrow much. In fact, we are only borrowing less than 13 percent of the total budget seize. It will be for our people to continue to support the government.

“With the sort of spending we are going to be executing here in Enugu State, we are going to be able to tackle unemployment.

“We are also going to be able to deal with a lot of things as I have just mentioned, with more funds available to our civil servants and indeed to the entire people of Enugu State,” the governor said.

While reiterating that his administration would tackle dearth of infrastructure, provide quality and affordable education system through the construction of 260 smart schools, governor Mbah added that the ongoing construction of 260 Type-2 primary healthcare centres across the state would afford a healthy population of workforce for the much expected investment.

“From the over ₦414 billion capital expenditure, we are doing a number of radical things that we believe will impact the wellbeing and lives of the civil servants.

“We are going to be building 260 smart schools. What that translates to is that civil servants will no longer have a need to look for money to send their children to private schools.

“Each smart school also comes with teachers’ quarters. What that means is that the teachers will no longer have to bother about transportation or accommodation because these are all embedded in the smart schools that we are developing.

“We are also building 260 Type-2 primary healthcare centres. What that also means for the average civil servants is that they would not have to struggle to find money to go to a private hospital. They will have world-class medical services obtainable from the primary healthcare centres.

“In our mass housing effort, we plan to do 20,000 units in this same year's budget,” he concluded.

The Holy Mass, which featured prayers for the state and the Mbah administration, was celebrated by the chaplain of the Government House, Chapel, Rev. Fr. Anthony Udeh, had in attendance Governor Peter Mbah; Deputy Governor, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai; Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu: Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Ozoemenam Afojulu; cabinet members, Government House workers, and several dignitaries, among others.

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