N1.1 trillion: The unrealistic 2020 budget of ‘Olipotic Meristemasis’ of Cross River State

GOVERNOR Ben Ayade of Cross River state has presented an appropriation bill of N1.1 trillion for the 2020 fiscal year despite the obvious dwindling revenue.

The governor who is known for proposing unrealistic budgets in past years, while presenting the 2020 budget proposal disclosed that the budget has a capital expenditure of N911 billion, representing 82.8 percent and a recurrent expenditure of N188 billion, representing 17.2 percent of the aggregate budget. The Governor is of the belief that the budget will be anchored on a spiritual force.

How unrealistic is this budget?

In 2018, the total revenue for the state was N54.4 billion, a paltry 4.2 percent of the entire budget size of N1.3 trillion. The state received N36.95 billion from the federal allocation account and tried to generate just N17.55 billion internally. With this, the state in 2018, had a budget deficit of about 95.8 percent. The narrative is yet to change in 2019.

For 2019, the governor signed what he tagged the budget of qabalistic densification of about N1.043 trillion. However, what the state has raked in as its revenue as of June 2019 is just about N33. 97 billion, with a projection that it may not rake in more than N80 billion as its revenue at the end of the year.

In the past 10 years, from 2009 to 2018, Cross River State has only received N377 billion from the federation account allocation and generated N128.6 billion internally, totaling N505.6 billion. Therefore, if the state borrows to spend N1.1 trillion in 2020, it may not earn this amount of money in revenue in the next 10 years.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/n1-1-trillion-the-unrealistic-2020-budget-of-olipotic-meristemasis-of-cross-river-state/