Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has approved the 2026 Appropriation Bill, with a total budget size of ₦1.584 trillion.
The approved budget allocates ₦416.59 billion to recurrent spending, while ₦1.167 trillion is set aside for capital projects.
Speaking after assenting to the bill at an expanded State Executive Council meeting held at the Executive Chambers of Government House on Monday, Governor Eno praised the strong cooperation between the State House of Assembly and the Executive arm of government.
He attributed the partnership to the significant progress recorded in the state over the past year and urged council members to demonstrate dedication and enthusiasm in delivering public services, cautioning that poor performance would not be excused.
He said, ”We all must rededicate ourselves to delivering our tasks promptly and decisively. This year is not a year for excuses. It is a year for action.
“Let us endeavour to break all barriers, go the extra mile to deliver. And when we deliver, we can sit back and celebrate. We can then be recognised.”
Earlier, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Udeme Otong, lauded the Governor for his transparency and collaborative approach to governance, insisting that the House of Assembly is appreciative of the results achieved by his government.
Otong said, “You have implemented over 80% of the 2025 budget and the House of Assembly is ready to continue collaborating with the Executive, so other people will continue to be happy to have you as their governor.”
Briefing newsmen after the budget-signing exercise, Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Linus Nkan, flanked by the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, said, “Today at EXCO, we witnessed the signing of the 2026 budget, which was passed by the State House of Assembly late last year. The 2026 budget, which was presented to the House of Assembly on the 25th of November, 2025, had a total budget size of N1.39trn.
“After subjecting the budget to scrutiny in the State House of Assembly, where all the MDAs appeared for defence, a whole lot of adjustments were made by the various MDAs, and that adjustment led to an increase in the budget size by the sum of N194 billion, and that increased the total budget size to 1,584,000,000 Naira for the 2026 budget.
“The recurrent expenditure total is 416.5 billion, as against N354 billion originally proposed. Whereas the capital expenditure increased to N1,167 trillion from the original N1,035 trillion.
“We have today, a total budget size of 1,584,271,856,630 Naira to run with for the 2026 fiscal year and hopefully it is going to stimulate and drive development of our economy.“
Earlier, the governor presented an award of excellence to the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Anieti Udofia, as Commissioner of the Year, and lauded his passion and dedication which accounted for the success of the recently-concluded Christmas Unplugged 3:0.
He announced a cash prize of N20m to the Commissioner and another N100m to members of the planning committee of the event, and approved a one-week leave for the Commissioner.
In November, Eno presented a N1.39 trillion budget proposal for the 2026 financial year titled “The People’s Budget of Expansion and Growth.”
The budget presented marks a 16 per cent decrease (N260bn) from the revised 2025 budget.
