Cross River State Gov. Bassey Edet Otu has submitted a N987.8 billion spending proposal for 2027, with capital outlays taking 71.72% of the plan for lawmakers to consider.
Otu presented the proposal to the state House of Assembly in Calabar on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The Cross River State Ministry of Information put the total at N987,808,089,235.92 and gave the plan the title “Budget of Consolidation and Renewed Hope.”
Capital expenditure would total N708.43 billion. Recurrent spending would account for N279.38 billion, or 28.28%, the ministry said. The proposal draws on the state’s 2027-2029 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, according to the announcement.
Infrastructure would be the biggest named sector line at N246.1 billion. The proposal also assigns N99.6 billion to education and N85.4 billion to health, the ministry said.
The ministry described the proposed total as 2.57% above the 2026 budget. That increase matches the revised 2026 total of N963,074,438,018.60, after a supplementary appropriation raised the earlier N961,624,047,275.08 figure.
Otu said his administration had taken no new domestic or external loans since he took office in 2023. He attributed the state’s debt burden to inherited obligations and debt servicing. “I cannot, and will never mortgage the future of our children with unsustainable loans,” he said.
Otu asked lawmakers to consider and pass the appropriation bill. The ministry’s announcement gave no date for a vote.
