Being the Text of the 2026 Budget Presentation Address by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, on the Floor of the Abia State House of Assembly in Umuahia on Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Protocols
1. Mr Speaker, honourable members of the Abia State House of Assembly, fellow Abians permit me to begin on a note of profound gratitude, first to this honourable assembly and its leadership for warmly welcoming us into this hallowed chamber to present the draft of the 2026 appropriation bill for legislative consideration. I would also like to use the special opportunity offered by this august gathering to thank Ndi Abia at home and in the diaspora for their continuing goodwill and prayerful support. The position of leadership in a democracy is not just about one’s brilliance but an honour done to an individual or group by the people in continuing pursuit of the dreams of freedom which is democracy’s ultimate and most compelling promise.
2. Today, we have come to further strengthen our covenant with our people whose collective expectations we bear. I would like to sincerely thank you, Mr Speaker and the honourable members of this house for your commitment to the New Abia project. Over the past two and half years, you have worked collaboratively with the leaders of the other arms of government to build robust and responsive institutions. Thank you for placing the future of our State over personal glory and above all, for prioritising development over petty politics.
3. Mr Speaker, honourable members, we are here primarily to lay the expenditure outline for the next fiscal year before this assembly but we have also come for other important reasons connected to the democratic culture of accountability. Events like this present an excellent opportunity for stocktaking — to assess how far we have come, what has been achieved with the resources appropriated by this house and then present a plan for consolidation and improvements because there are no perfect endeavours. Beyond consolidation, we also have our eyes fixed on higher development targets. Our overarching governance agenda — the motivation behind everything we have done over the last 30 months — is to build systems and structures that support the productive ventures of our people, cut-out the obstacles that set us back and unleash the genius of this land. Abia is greatly blessed but as we have learnt from a careful observation of the world, potential for greatness is not the same thing as greatness. Our job as leaders is to activate the mechanism for transforming our system of natural advantages into platforms for true greatness.
4. The promise to make Abia truly the number one State in the country on all relevant and applicable indices of development is beyond sloganeering, it is a commitment to turn the human and material assets available to the State into productive vehicles of economic growth and prosperity. Mr Speaker, honourable members of 8th Assembly, while it is true that we are still far from our target destination, it is also a statement of fact that with the support of this house — with the understanding and cooperation of members across political party lines — we have made significant progress on relevant development indicators leading to the repositioning of the State as a major investment destination and a safe place to raise families. With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to share a few of the most remarkable achievements already recorded in the 2025 fiscal year.
5. You may wish to recall that on December 10, 2024, I stood on this same platform to present for the consideration of this house, a total budget estimate of N750,282,200,000 (seven hundred and fifty billion, two hundred and eighty-two million, two hundred thousand naira only) for the 2025 financial year. 82% of the total outlay was targeted at capital projects while we channelled the balance of 18% to recurrent expenditures. We gathered a few weeks later to formally sign the appropriation bill into law after it had been carefully considered for feasibility, expected impact and project spread and then given a comprehensive nod by Mr Speaker and his colleagues. 11 months down the line, I am glad to report, without any fear of equivocation, that the expenditure pattern since January till date reflects the spirit and letters of the appropriation bill as passed and signed into law. The State has also been prudent in the application of subsequent supplementary appropriations made by the house over the course of the year as we tried to respond to important developments that could not have been anticipated when putting the appropriation bill together. My report to Mr Speaker and the house today is that since the beginning of the year, we have kept our outlays to the limits approved by this assembly.
6. As already indicated, the road ahead is still far but the target has never been to achieve perfect outcomes. Our commitment is to continue to put one foot ahead of the other — to move from one point to the next and make each day’s accomplishments better than outcomes from previous day’s efforts. As we often say, development is essentially about the sequence of progress that expands the capacity of individuals and institutions to function. In the light of where we currently stand on the development ladder, our number one assignment as leaders is to build structures that empower the people. Our success will be measured in the end by the dreams we revive and the number of persons whose candles are lit by the policies and programmes we curate. The greatness we seek in our communities will come from the new paths we create, the progress we make in the education of our young people, the results we achieve in healthcare delivery, the efforts at keeping our communities safe and in the force of the personal examples we demonstrate as leaders.
7. In the light of the above Mr Speaker, I’m glad to report that since assuming office in 2023, we have made very significant progress on the security front. Abia, despite the chaos you hear from far and near, has remained one of the safest destinations for residents and travellers in the entire country. This is one of the few places where the government is in absolute control of its territorial jurisdictions. Over the last 11 months, we have doubled our commitment to the security of lives and property in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, Section 14(2b). Mr Speaker, honourable members, fellow Abians, the security measures we put in place have guaranteed that any of us can travel from Umunneochi to Ukwa and back at any time of the day or night without fear of untoward developments. In the few times that men of the underworld have tested our resolve, we have also responded in ways that reiterated our message that whoever threatens the peace and security of this State shall pay a heavy price. I would like to specially salute our security officials for the courage and efforts at keeping this State safe, even at the risk of their lives.
8. Road infrastructure development occupies a central place in our governance framework and I can confidently report that remarkable progress has also been made in this regard. In the last 30 months, over 600 kilometres of strategic roads have been constructed, rehabilitated and restored across the 17 LGAs. Since the beginning of the year, we have completed some of our landmark road infrastructure development projects including Port Harcourt Road, Ohanku Road and a long stretch of road projects within the Aba extended urban corridor — roads that were hitherto overgrown with weeds, covered with heaps of waste and stagnant, vector-ridden water have since been rehabilitated and restored. Within the period under review, the State Government, relying on the legislative leverage provided by this house also completed the 8.3-kilometre Isieketa-Obikabia Road, and the 45 kilometre Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Abariba Road which transverses 4 local government areas in the central and northern regions of the State. We have also made significant progress on all other major road projects we initiated with special reference to the 30 kilometre Arochukwu-Ozuabam Road, Obohia Road Aba, Umuopara Ring Road, Ntigha-Mbawsi-Umuala Road, Onuimo to Abia Tower, road dualisation, the Owerrinta- Umuikaa- Umuene Road dualisation, Ohafia-Arochukwu Road, Nunya-Eluama Road, Mbala-Umuaku-Ngodo Road, Obehie-Umudioba-Owaza Road, Ohanze – Ntighauzor – Obete – Umuoha – Oberete Akirikaobu Road, Isieketa – Mba – Ekeokporo Mgbedeala Road and several others.
9. One significant achievement, enough to be called a revolution, in the road infrastructure restoration frontline is the expanding role of the engineering corps at the State Ministry of Works. Before now, this team of professionals were largely redundant, restricted mostly to clerical functions even as their technical competences lay dormant. Today, the story is different. Mr Speaker, Honourable members, may I report that through the effective contributions of the team of engineers and technical officers at the Ministry of Works, this administration has been able to achieve impressive results on road rehabilitation, reconstruction and maintenance. Their involvement has also saved us tens of billions of naira in project costs. From our beloved State capital, Umuahia, to more than 100 other communities, the daily experiences of our people have changed dramatically with the completion of critical roads connecting individuals to their sources of livelihood.
10. Mr Speaker, honourable members, you may wish to recall that in the 2025 fiscal year, 15% of the entire budgetary outlay was appropriated for the health sector and as faithful stewards, it is our duty to report that the funds were applied to projects, programmes and general body of initiatives that are tied to improving the health and wellbeing of our people. Over the last 11 months, we have rebuilt or retrofitted, equipped and staffed about 200 primary healthcare facilities. We have also recorded great strides in reviving the secondary healthcare system with the restoration of the Aba and Arochukwu General Hospitals, the reconstruction and expansion of the operations of the Abayi and Nkporo Cottage Hospitals and the operationalisation of the Sustainable Development Multipurpose Hospital in Ugwunagbo. On the tertiary care front, we have also achieved very important milestones that have not only raised the quality of care available to our people but have saved lives and restored hope in the public healthcare delivery system. On this stretch Mr Speaker, may I crave your indulgence to inform this honourable house that the Abia State University Teaching Hospital Aba is being remodelled into a centre of excellence in the provision of tertiary care and medical research. In Umuahia, the Abia State Specialist and Diagnostic Hospital has continued to expand the scope of its offering by providing very delicate specialist services in eye care, intensive care, kidney and cardiac support. It is fulfilling to note that health conditions that previously took individuals and families out of the State can now be addressed in public health facilities owned by the State. To further consolidate the gains made in healthcare and human support services, we recently introduced the Abia Health Workers Salary Scale, ASHWOSS. Under the new remuneration structure, health workers in the State enjoy the same reward system as their counterparts in the federal health service. To further boost our human resource asset in health sector, we recently concluded the recruitment of 771 professionals to support service delivery across our primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. Things are looking good across the entire value chain in our healthcare delivery ecosystem and we are only just getting started. It may also be worthwhile to inform us that since the roll out of the formal sector health insurance programme in April, we have enrolled about 120, 000 persons guaranteeing them affordable access to quality health services at partner facilities across the State. On account of the investments we have made, especially in the last 11 months, Abia was recently ranked as the most prepared state for health emergency responses in the entire country. Again, it is still early days but it is gratifying to see our modest efforts bearing great fruits.
11. The education sector has also witnessed extensive transformation in structure and service layout since the beginning of the year. Mr Speaker, honourable members, education, as you know, is our biggest industry. This explains why we have consistently allocated the largest chunk of our annual budget to the sector — 20% in the 2024 and 2025 budget cycles. We share the view expressed several years ago by the great Nelson Mandela that education is the greatest tool which one can use to change the world. Education for us is the number one vehicle for development. Our commitment to qualitative education informed the decision to recruit 5,394 teachers for our primary and secondary schools earlier in the year and the recruitment of another 4,000 is on going at the moment. The remodelling and retrofitting of over 100 schools in different communities, mainstreaming smart learning in our public school system and capacity building programmes for more than 2, 000 teachers are some of the bold initiatives we have undertaken in the last 11 months to reshape the future of our society through education. On account of the remarkable progress made in the restoration of quality teaching and learning in the public schools, the confidence of parents and guardians is returning. Recent data from the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board indicates that enrolment has doubled in the last 9 months, especially after the roll-out of the free and compulsory basic education policy. The performance on the tertiary education front is also heart-warming. May I also report that the management of Abia State University Uturu, Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba and the Abia State College of Education Technical in Arochukwu have been given necessary financial and structural support to improve the quality of programmes and outputs of their institutions while several years of salary arrears inherited by this government have been completely paid.
12. The importance of agriculture to our food security and job creation outlook cannot be overemphasised but we have moved past the old tradition of guesswork and political patronage in the guise of agricultural support. Our approach to the sector is data driven and evidence-based. We have subsequently created a robust database that matches farmers to farmlands and other farm assets. Even as we continue to update the records, the good news today is that we now know the number of active farmers in the State, their place in the value chain as well as the nature of support they may need to achieve higher output volumes. On the strength of data available to us, we provided targeted support to more than 2, 000 small-holder farmers in the last farming season. It would also interest this honourable assembly to note that hitherto dormant agricultural assets owned by the State including land, rubber and palm oil plantations have since been surveyed and a digital register created to guide our interactions with investors negotiating to put these assets to better use.
13. Let me, as I conclude this segment on the summary of our achievements in the last 11 months, inform Mr Speaker and this honourable house that our plan to achieve energy independence reached some significant milestones this year with the passage and signing of the Abia State Electricity Law and the setting up of the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Agency (ASERA) earlier in the year. Just recently, our offer to buy off the electricity distribution assets in the State outside the Aba ring-fenced corridor was accepted by the original investors. This new development takes us a step closer to our target of effective control of the electricity value chain in all parts of the State.
14. Without any shadow of doubt, Mr Speaker, honourable members, our great State has recorded remarkable progress on multiple development frontlines since the beginning of the year. Our cities and towns now rank as some of the cleanest urban destinations in the country. We are also seeing great results in the management and maintenance of our public buildings following the rehabilitation and restoration of several government offices and residences for public officials. Productivity in the civil service is rising tremendously owing to our commitment to workers’ welfare and support for capacity building programmes. Our policy of prompt and regular payment of pensions has restored the faith of our senior citizens and we shall do even better in the coming year. Through various activities in sports, ICT, business incubation and leadership training programmes, we have changed the youth empowerment paradigm in the State from the old emphasis on fleeting things that keep them dependent on individuals to the development of skills that build their independence. Our grand plan for the youth is to provide them the extensive support they need to build and sustain themselves through consistent value creation.
15. Mr Speaker, honourable members, fellow Abians, even with the list of worthwhile achievements already presented, I would be the first to acknowledge that we have still not reached the uhuru moment as it relates to the implementation of the provisions of the 2025 budget on account of constraints arising from unmet projections and critical contingencies that we were required to deal with. A few lessons have been learnt from this. We shall continue to make improvements that reflect our new insights on the broad structure of public sector governance. We shall at the end of this quarter, publish our holistic budget performance report for 2025. At any rate, what I can announce from this podium this minute is that we are seeing a progressive rise in performance.
16. Mr Speaker, having given a comprehensive rundown of our performance on critical development frontiers in the 2025 financial year, may I now present for the consideration of this Assembly, the 2026 Budget estimate which we have christened “Budget of Acceleration and New Possibilities”. The size of the total envelope proposed for the 2026 fiscal year is N1,016,228,072,651.99 (one trillion, sixteen billion, two hundred and twenty-eight million, seventy-two thousand, six hundred- and fifty-one-naira, ninety-nine kobo). This figure represents a 13% increase from the 2025 appropriation numbers and captures the scale of our ambition to drive rapid socioeconomic growth and sustained development through investments in infrastructural projects, social services, security and similar outlays that are at the heart of the on-going transformation of the State. In consistency with the standard that had been set since the presentation of our first budget proposal 2 years ago, we shall commit N811,813,769,862.24 (eight hundred and eleven billion, eight hundred and thirteen million, seven hundred and sixty nine thousand, eight hundred and sixty two naira, twenty four kobo), representing 80% of the entire outlay to the execution of capital projects while the sum of N204,414,302,789.75 (two hundred and four billion, four hundred and fourteen million, three hundred and two thousand, seven hundred and eighty nine naira, seventy five kobo) representing 20% of the budget shall be committed to recurrent spending. A total outlay of N811.8 billion for capital projects represents a 32% jump from our 2025 proposal which stood at N726.4billion. Conversely, the size of the envelope for recurrent expenditure has been raised by 33% from last year’s figure which stood at N136 billion. The increase is to enable us support critical day-to-day administrative functions and effectively meet our obligations to personnel especially with the addition of thousands of new employees to the payroll.
17. For the 2026 fiscal year, we shall continue our standing practice of committing 20% of the total budget, amounting to N203.2 billion, to the education sector. Of this sum, N150.4 billion would be committed to offsetting our recurrent expenditures like paying the salaries of about 15,000 teachers working in our primary and secondary schools and in the execution of capital projects. We have made provisions for the building of 17 model primary and secondary schools as well as 3 technical colleges for vocational training programmes. Also noteworthy is the fact that provisions have been made for the building of staff quarters and ICT labs in more than 100 public schools around the State. In the same vein, we have also earmarked N52.8 billion for recurrent and capital projects in the tertiary education sub-sector. This sum, in addition to catering for the welfare of the staff of the Abia State University, Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic and Abia State College of Education Technical, Arochukwu, shall also be channelled into the renovation and construction of hostels for male and female students, lecture theatres and support for general development programmes within these institutions.
18. In the health sector, we are proposing to commit a princely sum of N149.7 billion representing 15% of the total budget pack to cover programmes and activities connected to healthcare delivery services in the 2026 fiscal year. Some of the very notable capital projects we shall be driving in the New Year include the supply of life-saving equipment to the Abia State University Teaching Hospital and across 23 other public health facilities around the State. Provisions have also been made for the reconstruction or renovation of 7 General Hospitals and similar physical development activities across the public-owned health institutions to support effective manpower development in the sector.
19. We shall expectedly continue with our aggressive road infrastructure development programme in 2026. To this effect, the sum of N169.3 billion representing 16.7% of the total envelope has been budgeted for road construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance through the Ministry of Works. This sum shall be applied to the execution of the key projects we have outlined for 2026; these include the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road, Ahiaeke-Okwuta-Bende Road, Umuahia-Umueze-Agwu-Mbom Road, Nkata-Amaeke Road, Agbo-Umueze Road, Umueze Mbom Road, Umuoji Road, Mgboko Road, Amauzukwu-Mbom Road and several other roads that directly impact the livelihood of our people in different communities.
20. In line with our vision of transforming the public transport system, we have proposed to commit N11.1 billion to the sector in the new financial year. Of this sum, N6 billion shall be committed to the acquisition of 80 additional units of 40-seater electric-powered buses for urban mass transit. We have also made provisions for the completion of the inter-modular transport terminals; junction improvement works and bus shelters which we estimate would come into operations by the second quarter of 2026. As you may be aware, the first set of 20 customised electric buses has been delivered and shall begin operations shortly.
21. The needs of our entrepreneurial community, farmers and other economic agents in the agricultural value chain, the young people in sports and ICT, women and mothers, and the economically and socially vulnerable groups have been effectively factored into the preparation of the 2026 budget outline. We shall also drive important project outcomes in the areas of lands and housing development, environmental protection, restoration and urban renewal and then cultural renaissance. We are committed to expanding the development space to improve the daily experiences of our people through these broad but connected initiatives. To this effect, we have earmarked sums in excess of N229 billion for outcomes related to the outlined objectives through the various ministries, departments and agencies that oversee responsibilities along these lines. Our war against poverty and unemployment remains total. In this regard, I am happy to inform this honourable assembly that the current budget proposal contains strategic investment framework to drive job creation and enterprise growth. The 2026 budget estimate has definite provisions for inclusive growth through the resuscitation of dormant economic assets and expansion of opportunities using technology, finance and partnerships.
22. Our budgetary outlook for 2026 is firmed on a set of conservative estimates drawing from the economic dynamics of 2025 and the forecast of credible financial analysts. Recall that earlier in the month, data from independent sources ranked Abia as one of the best States in fiscal governance records with expanded internally generated revenue (IGR) returns. I am glad that our investments in development infrastructure, security and social services have greatly increased the volume of economic activities in the State leading to higher IGR receipts. Many in this hallowed assembly may also recall that we operate on a unique definition of taxation as the government’s share of the prosperity that it helped to create. Evidently, moving our annual IGR figures from the region of N20 billion a few years ago to a projected value of about a hundred billion in 2025 speaks to the validity of our theory on one hand and then the wisdom of deploying technology to streamline revenue collections, remittances and reporting. For the 2026 fiscal year, we are raising the bar even higher. On the basis of the decent strides recorded in infrastructural development and the leap in investors’ confidence, we project an increase in the State’s IGR portfolio to N223.4 billion. May I happily announce that the target for 2026 is that all recurrent expenditures shall be funded from our IGR receipt while what is raised from external sources would be committed strictly to infrastructural development. In the New Year, we estimate that the State would earn N83.2 billion through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), N67.1 billion from VAT collections, N26.5 billion from grants and aids and N168 billion from other federal revenue channels and accruals. Our combined revenue projection from internal and external sources for 2026 is N607.2 billion leaving us a balance of N409 billion. The deficit, 40% of the entire outlay, shall be sourced from the loan markets at concessionary rates. In line with the fiscal disposition of this administration, may I again reiterate that not a penny shall be borrowed to finance recurrent expenditures. As I announced on this same podium in 2023 and 2024, we shall borrow only when it is absolutely necessary and such funds shall be deployed only for the execution of projects that will ultimately liquidate the loans in medium to long term. This honourable house can be sure of one thing: we shall remain prudent in the management of every penny appropriated by it.
23. Mr Speaker, honourable members, permit me one more time to sincerely thank you for the special opportunity to share our vision for the coming year with all of you and millions of Ndi Abia. As convention demands, I shall now proceed to lay the draft of the 2026 Budget of the Abia State Government before this honourable house for careful consideration and passage in fulfilment of the obligation we collectively owe the people who have entrusted us with the sacred responsibility of leadership.
24. Thank you for your attention and may God bless Abia State.
Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR,
25/11/2025