Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, on Tuesday presented a landmark N1.62 trillion budget proposal for 2026 to the State House of Assembly, describing it as the “Budget of Renewed Momentum.”
The proposed budget represents a 66.5% increase from the revised 2025 budget of N971 billion, signalling the administration’s transition from laying foundations to scaling transformative projects across sectors.
Under the proposal, Capital Expenditure dominates with N1.296 trillion (80%), while Recurrent Expenditure stands at N321.3 billion (20%), bringing the total to N1,617,397,465,000.
Funding Plan
Governor Mbah said the budget would be financed through:
N870bn Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)
N387bn Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts
N329bn capital receipts
Sectoral Breakdown
Economic Sector: N825.9bn (51%)
Social Sector: N644.7bn (40.1%)
Administration: N128bn
Justice: N15.8bn
Regional Development: N2bn
The Governor said the huge allocation to the Economic Sector was deliberate to stimulate job creation, expand industry, grow agriculture, and drive the administration’s target of seven-fold GDP growth.
Major Projects
Infrastructure & Roads: Construction of 1,200 urban roads and additional rural networks, completion of Owo–Ubahu–Amankanu–Neke–Ikem dual carriageway, dualisation of Abakpa Nike–Ugwogo Nike–Ekwegbe–Opi-Nsukka Road, and completion of the 21.65km Enugu–Abakaliki Expressway.
Transportation
Procurement of 14 more aircraft to expand Enugu Air’s fleet to 20 and five new transport terminals at Emene, Udi, Awgu, Four-Corners (Ozalla), and Obollo-Afor
Housing
15% of the budget for 15,000 mass housing units, and ongoing development of New Enugu City
Agriculture
Establishment of 20-hectare farm estates in all 260 wards
Social Sector Priorities
Education receives a record 32.27%, with investments in Smart Secondary Schools, Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Colleges.
Governor Mbah said the spending reflects a commitment to addressing the long-term cost of out-of-school children, noting that “what we spend on education today is insignificant compared to the social cost of neglect tomorrow.”
Other allocations include N20bn to clear outstanding gratuities and N11bn for the second phase of the state’s digital surveillance system.
10% of the budget to health
2025 Budget Performance
Governor Mbah highlighted strong fiscal execution 97.5% utilisation of total funds received and 83% overall budget performance
On revenue, he disclosed that Enugu’s IGR is projected to exceed N400bn in 2025, the highest in the state’s history and a 221.6% increase over 2024.
The Governor credited federal policies for improved FAAC inflows:
“We projected N150bn but received N230bn, over 50% above expectations,” he said, attributing the gains to President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, including subsidy removal and FX rate unification, which he said helped stabilise inflation, interest rates, and foreign reserves.
Governor Mbah urged the House to give the proposed budget accelerated consideration to consolidate the administration’s momentum heading into 2026.
