Ndubuisi Ugah 
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State on Tuesday presented a record N1.62 trillion budget for the 2026 fiscal year to the Enugu State House of Assembly, declaring that the administration is shifting from laying foundations to accelerating transformation across all sectors.
The proposed budget represents a 66.5 percent increase from the revised N971 billion 2025 budget. Christened the Budget of Renewed Momentum, it comprises N1.296 trillion in capital expenditure, amounting to 80 percent of the total, and N321.3 billion in recurrent expenditure, representing 20 percent.
Governor Mbah explained that the budget would be funded through a projected N870 billion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), N387 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), and N329 billion in capital receipts.
A sectoral breakdown shows that the Economic Sector takes the largest share with N825.9 billion, representing 51 percent of the budget. The Social Sector is allocated N644.7 billion or 40.1 percent. The Administration Sector, Justice Sector and Regional Sector are to receive N128 billion, N15.8 billion and N2 billion respectively.
Mbah said the emphasis on the Economic Sector was intentional, noting that investments in agriculture, industry and trade would create jobs, reduce poverty and boost revenue. He added that the sector’s performance was central to the administration’s ambition to achieve a sevenfold growth in Enugu State’s GDP.
Key infrastructure plans include the construction of 1,200 urban roads and numerous rural roads, alongside the completion of major projects such as the 40-kilometre Owo–Ubahu–Amankanu–Neke–Ikem dual carriageway, the dualisation of Abakpa Nike–Ugwogo Nike–Ekwegbe–Opi Nsukka Road, and the 21.65-kilometre Enugu–Abakaliki Expressway.
In transportation, the governor announced that Enugu Air’s fleet would be expanded to 20 aircraft, with 14 new planes to be acquired and three expected to arrive before the end of 2025. The government also plans to build additional transport terminals in Emene, Udi, Awgu, Four Corners (Ozalla), and Obollo-Afor. Fifteen percent of the budget has been earmarked for the delivery of 15,000 mass housing units and continued development of the New Enugu City project.
The governor revealed plans to intensify agricultural development by constructing 20-hectare farm estates across the 260 wards of the state, some of which are already underway.
Education again received the highest allocation within the Social Sector, taking 32.27 percent of the entire budget. Mbah said that with the completion or near-completion of the 260 Smart Green Schools, the focus in 2026 would be on Smart Secondary Schools and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) colleges. He argued that the spending on education was justified when weighed against the long-term cost of an expanding population of out-of-school children.
The government set aside N20 billion for the payment of accumulated gratuities inherited from previous administrations. It also allocated N11 billion for the second phase of the state’s security surveillance system, while the health sector is slated to receive 10 percent of the total budget.
2025 Budget Performance
Providing an update on the 2025 budget, Governor Mbah said the administration had so far expended about N806 billion, representing 97.5 percent of funds received and 83 percent of total budget implementation based on the revised budget of N871 billion.
He noted that revenues had improved significantly, with Internally Generated Revenue projected to exceed N400 billion by year-end — the highest in Enugu State’s history and a 221.6 percent increase over 2024.
The governor commended President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, which he said had boosted FAAC allocations. Enugu had projected N150 billion but received N230 billion — over 50 percent more than expected.
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidies, exchange rate unification and other fiscal measures had stabilised macroeconomic indicators, including declining inflation, easing interest rates and a steadier exchange rate.
He added that Nigeria’s foreign reserves had strengthened, recently reaching the $46 billion mark.
