- Earmarks 80% for capital projects
The Abia State governor, Alex Otti, on Tuesday, presented a N1.016 trillion 2026 budget estimate to the State House of Assembly.
Otti, who presented the appropriation bill christened “Budget of Acceleration and New Possibilities”, at the Assembly Complex in Umuahia, said the proposal is 13 percent higher than 2025 appropriation, which stood at N750.28 billion.
He said the budget has been designed to fast-track infrastructural expansion, boost social services and deepen ongoing reforms across the State.
He allocated N811.8 billion, or 80 percent of the total outlay to capital projects, while recurrent expenditure got N204.4 billion, or 20 per cent of the budget.
The governor said the capital vote rose by 32 percent from N726.4 billion in 2025, and the recurrent increased by 33 percent to support daily operations and new personnel.
He added that 20 percent of the budget, totalling N203.2 billion, was earmarked for education.
According to him, N150.4 billion of the funds earmarked for education would fund salaries of at least 15,000 teachers and new school infrastructure.
Otti announced plans to build 17 model primary and secondary schools, three technical colleges, staff quarters and more than 100 ICT laboratories in the State.
He said tertiary institutions would receive N52.8 billion for salaries and new facilities.