By Isaac Mission
The Abia State Government has opened consultations with residents and other stakeholders as it begins preparations for the state’s 2027 budget.
The exercise is aimed at gathering public input on the projects and sectors that should receive priority in the final fiscal plan of Governor Alex Otti’s administration.
The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Kingsley Anosike, disclosed this on Thursday during a citizens’ engagement forum held at the Aguiyi Ironsi Conference Centre in Umuahia.
Anosike said the consultation was designed to ensure that the 2027 budget reflects the needs and expectations of residents rather than being based solely on government officials’ assessments.
He noted that the exercise was particularly significant because the 2027 budget would be the final budget cycle of the current administration.
The commissioner explained that feedback from previous engagements had influenced government policies and projects. He cited the modification of the latest batch of electric buses to accommodate persons living with disabilities.
According to him, the state government had cancelled an earlier order for 20 buses after stakeholders raised concerns about the lack of adequate accessibility features.
Also speaking at the forum, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget and Economic Planning, Eric Egwuibe, outlined the major sectors through which Abia’s expenditure is organised.
He listed the sectors as administration, economic affairs, law and justice, and social development.
Giving an overview of the 2026 budget implementation during the first six months, Egwuibe said N64 billion was allocated to administration, while N550 billion went to the economic sector. Law and justice received N13 billion, while N387 billion was allocated to the social sector.
He described the economic sector as particularly important because spending on infrastructure and productive activities could stimulate economic expansion and increase the state’s revenue-generating capacity.
Egwuibe also highlighted the administration’s efforts to promote fiscal transparency, saying budget documents and quarterly implementation reports had been made available to members of the public.
On the assumptions guiding the preparation of the 2027 budget, he said the state was relying on key economic projections from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The projections include an inflation rate of 15.9 per cent, economic growth of 4.3 per cent, an oil benchmark of $60 per barrel, crude oil production of 1.7 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N1,432 to the US dollar.
The state government said contributions from citizens and stakeholders would be considered in determining the priorities and projects to be captured in the 2027 budget.
