AKSG Inaugurates 2026 Budget C’ttee

… Charges Members On Diligence, Objectivity, Transparency 
By Bassey Nkponam
UYO
The Akwa Ibom government has inaugurated the 2026 Budget Committee with a charge to ensure that the budget process reflects the voice of the people and priorities of the State.
  The commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Nsikan Linus Nkan, who gave the charge last Monday, while inaugurating the committee at the conference room of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, said government specifically desires a budget that supports farmers, empowers rural communities, improves roads, health care and schools, strengthens security and gives Akwa Ibom children access to quality education.
Nkan, who is chairman of the committee, said the inauguration marked a critical step in the State’s ongoing efforts to build a robust, transparent and inclusive budgeting process that reflects the aspiration of the people and the development priorities of the current administration.
He noted that the policy thrust of the 2026 budget will be anchored on the ARISE Agenda of the present administration, while  the key targets for the State government from a fiscal perspective is to achieve a recurrent to capital expenditure ratios of between 30:70; create efficiencies in overhead expenditure to allow greater resources for capital development; grow Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by basic target minimum of 25 per cent per annum; create savings for the coming year opening balance; allow 1.0 per cent of revenue for contingency reserve; target sources of capital receipts outside of loans, as well as give priority to completion of ongoing projects while new ones are also being conceived.
Nkan reminded the committee members that the task before them demands diligence, objectivity and transparency, and stressed the need to engage stakeholders, consult widely and ensure that the budget process reflect the voice of the people and priorities of the State. 
   The commissioner and chairman of the committee maintained that the inauguration was the first phase of the budgeting process, which is why they should complete their task within a short time to enable them assemble the collated data, urging them to accord the process the utmost importance it deserves, as government cannot function without budgeting. 
He thanked the State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, for making budgeting a critical function and a realistic process in the State, and not the normal assembling of figures and items, saying, the importance attached to budgeting by Eno is a demonstration that budget should be ideal as much as possible. 
Members of the 2026 Budget Committee comprised the commissioner for Finance, Mr. Emem Bob; commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Inibehe Etukudoh; Honourary Special Adviser to the Governor on Economic Planning, Dr. Felix Udofia; Honourary Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget, Elder Nse Ekefre; permanent secretaries in the Ministries of Budget and Economic Planning and that of the Department of Establishments; the State Accountant General; State Auditor General; chairman, Internal Revenue Service, Sir Okon Okon; Statistician General, Akwa Ibom State Bureau of Statistics; Director General, Akwa Ibom State Fiscal Responsibility Board; director, Economic Planning; director, Budget; director, International Cooperation, among other senior officials from relevant MDAs.