• As House retains N1.3Trn Capital Expenditure, N321 billion Recurrent Expenditure
• Economic sector tops sectoral allocations with N825.9% of total budget

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has signed the Enugu State 2026 Appropriation Bill into Law, restating his administration’s resolve to redouble the transformations recorded across every sector so far.

Appending his signature to the document at the Executive Chamber, Government House, Enugu, on Wednesday, Mbah thanked Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly for their diligent and expedited consideration of the budget.

He promised to immediately commence implementation of the Appropriation Law tagged “Budget of Renewed Momentum.”

Out of the N1.62 trillion budget, the sum of N1,296,092,465,000,b representing 80 per cent of the budget was allocated to Capital Expenditure, while N321,305,000,000, representing 20 per cent of the budget goes to Recurrent Expenditure.

This follows the established budgeting tradition under the Mbah Administration as the 2024 budget comprised 79 per cent Capital Expenditure and 21 per cent Recurrent Expenditure per cent, while the 2025 budget comprised 86 per cent Capital Expenditure and 14 per cent Recurrent Expenditure.

Also, the Economic Sector leads with N825.9 billion, which represents 51 per cent of the total budget. The Social Sector is next with N644.7 billion, representing 40.1 per cent of the budget, while Administration Sector, Justice Sector and Regional Sector follow with N128 billion, N15.8 billion, and N2 billion, respectively.

Education got the lion’s share of 32.27 per cent, with N30 billion earmarked for schools feeding in the 260 Smart Green Schools, thus maintaining the administration’s tradition of over 30 per cent allocation to the sector in 2024 and 2025.

The budget funding comprises N870 billion Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, N387 billion from Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, and N329 billion from Capital Receipts.

Mbah said the 2026 budget was built on the philosophies of inclusivity, accountability, transparency, traceability, and strong institutions that assures that there is value for every kobo spent.

The governor maintained that the projected N870 IGR target was realisable, saying it only required discipline, creativity, and hard work.

He also cited the administration’s turnaround of the state’s IGR from below N30 billion it met in 2023 to over N180 billion in 2024 and N400 billion in 2025.

“We will be ending this year 2025 with an IGR of N400 billion, which is more than 83 per cent of our projected domestic revenue or IGR of N507 billion for this year.

“However, we are confident that we are not only going to achieve the over N800 billion revenue for next year, but we are also even going to overshoot it. We believe that with the unlocking of the different streams of economic potentials in Enugu State, we will realise our domestic revenue projection,” he explained.

Mbah said his dream was to make the state’s FAAC allocations a saving for the future.

“If you also look at the ratio to our expected Federal Allocation, it would be barely 27 to 28 per cent. It means that if we stay the course and realise this projected revenue for 2026, we can effectively govern Enugu State without recourse to our FAAC allocation. FAAC allocation becomes something we may just save for our children and for the rainy days,” he stated.

The governor, however, emphasised that the ambitious IGR projection could not be wished into existence, reminding appointees to perish the idea of yuletide holiday this year.

“We have projected an IGR of over N800bn. It translates to generating over N70 billion every month. And if you push further, it translates to over N18 billion every week. Again, if you drill down even further, it means we have to make over N2.5 billion every day.

“It is something we have to work extremely hard to realise. So, we do not have the luxury of wasting even one day, because it will be our billions that are being wasted. We feel the weight of the expectations on our shoulders and we are committed to it. We are going to suspend the Christmas for this year to ensure that we secure the future of our children,” he concluded

In his remark, Uchenna Ugwu, the Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, said that Governor Mbah’s involvement of the legislature right from the budget formation made its consideration seamless and people-centric.

“Therefore, Enugu people should expect numerous and earth-shaking projects like the roads, the 135.5 rail project, 14 more aircraft, more transport terminals, Smart Secondary Schools, completion of the 260 Farm Estates, among others in 2026,” he added.

Entitled the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (Establishment and Consolidation of Revenue Administration) Law, 2025, the new legislation also makes the revenue collection agency autonomous and free of bureaucratic encumbrances.

Speaking at the short bill signing ceremony at Government House, Enugu, on Tuesday, Mbah described the law as a milestone in his administration’s quest to enable the Ease of Doing business and make the state the premier destination for investment.

“I recall several times that I have engaged the business community, the organised private sector, and the market women. They have always complained about multiple taxation. People coming from everywhere with different types of government receipts to ask them to pay tax. That will end from today.

“With the signing of this bill into law, we now have one revenue collection point, whether for the market women, the organised private sector, and the different agencies of government. You would have one clear point where to pay your tax and you will be issued with the appropriate receipt of payment. That means you no longer have any other person coming for the collection of tax.

“It is very important because one of the core indicators of the Ease of Doing Business is to make sure that you have the ease of payment of your taxes and you do not have multiple channels where you are being dragged to pay taxes.”

According to the governor, the new law would effectively consolidate the revenues of the state and local governments, with each tier of government getting what is due to it at the end of the day such as is obtainable in land charges and Value Added Tax, VAT.

“The idea is that you have one point of collection, but the split is also done to the different tiers of government that this revenue is essentially due to.

“It is also important that we make this point very clear that this idea of the State Internal Revenue Service collecting on behalf of the other tiers of government is nothing new. As some of you already know, the Land Use Charge is paid to the local government, but collected by the state. So, what we are doing now is essentially consolidate all the other revenue types to ensure that there is one point of collection. So, this is a major milestone and it would also help us have a full line of sight to all the revenues we have in the state,” he stated.

He further explained that the Enugu State Inland Revenue Service would henceforth become autonomous.

“The Enugu State Inland Revenue Service is now able to act as an autonomous institution of the state government. It also means that they can now set targets and try to meet those targets the same way you run a business. It means that they now have the powers to hire and fire their employees. So, we are increasingly making the Revenue Service a professional body,” he added.

Mbah took the opportunity to explain that contrary to some misinformation, the massive rise in the state’s IGR was inspired by widening the tax net, plugging revenue leakages, and deployment of technology, rather than increasing tax rate.

“Let me be clear, we have not increased any tax in Enugu State. What we have essentially done and which is impacting our revenue growth is expansion of the tax net. We have also made sure that monies that were collected in cash before now are now adequately captured and paid into the state coffers,” Mbah said.

He commended the Enugu State House of Assembly for their support every step of the way, noting with gratitude the expeditiousness with which they treat executive bills.

Earlier in his remark, the Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Uchenna Ugwu, described the bill as a turning point in revenue collection in the state.

“One, it is going to improve the Ease of Doing Business. It is also going to improve the IGR of the state and also block all the loopholes in revenue collection and administration. It is a very good gift to the people of Enugu State,” he said.