Otu presents ₦987.8bn Cross River 2027 budget, with 71.72% for capital projects
- Governor Bassey Otu presented a ₦987.8 billion budget for 2027 to the Cross River House of Assembly in Calabar.
- Capital projects take ₦708.4 billion, or 71.72 per cent, with infrastructure getting the largest share at ₦246.1 billion.
- Otu said his administration has taken no fresh loans since 2023 and blamed inherited debt for slow development.
Cross River Governor Bassey Otu on Wednesday presented a proposed ₦987.8 billion budget for 2027 to the State House of Assembly in Calabar, with most of the money set aside for capital projects.
The proposal, put at ₦987,808,089,235.92, is about 2.57 per cent higher than the 2026 budget. Capital expenditure takes ₦708.43 billion, or 71.72 per cent, while recurrent spending is ₦279.38 billion, or 28.28 per cent.
Otu called it the “Budget of Consolidation and Renewed Hope”, describing it as a pact with residents for better livelihoods. He said the estimates were built on the 2027–2029 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
Where the money is going
Infrastructure has the largest listed allocation at ₦246.1 billion. Health follows at ₦85.4 billion and agriculture at ₦28.2 billion, with aviation at ₦21.8 billion. The House of Assembly is allocated ₦20.2 billion, the judiciary ₦19.1 billion, power ₦16.6 billion and tourism ₦11.3 billion.
Sources differ on the education figure. Channels TV and The Sun put it at ₦99.6 billion, while Tribune reported ₦39.6 billion. Tribune also gave the tourism allocation as ₦11.8 billion, against ₦11.3 billion in the other reports.
On debt, Otu said his administration has not taken fresh domestic or external loans since he assumed office in 2023, citing figures from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Debt Management Office. He said the state's existing debt came from previous administrations and was worsened by the naira's devaluation.
“I cannot, and will never mortgage the future of our children with unsustainable loans,” he said.
He said debt servicing has slowed the pace at which the state can fund projects, and promised to grow internally generated revenue and attract private investment.
What he says was achieved in 2026
Otu said a supplementary budget raised the 2026 spending plan to ₦963.07 billion after exchange-rate swings, rising costs and debt repayments.
He reported more than 608 kilometres of roads across the three senatorial districts, including the Nsan–Oban, Adiabo–Ikoneto and Yahe–Ebo–Wanakade roads. In agriculture, he said 20,000 bags of fertiliser went to 8,000 farmers, over one million oil-palm, cowpea and cocoa seedlings were distributed, and a 50,000-hectare rice project is under way.
In health, he cited oxygen plants in Calabar and Ogoja built with UNICEF, 95 per cent routine immunisation coverage, and a rise in the retirement age for health workers from 60 to 65. In education, he said WAEC fees were paid for students, more than 14,000 staff were promoted, and the state is targeting a 98 per cent literacy rate from about 80.7 per cent.
He also said the state's aviation fleet now has five aircraft after a new Bombardier CRJ jet, and that 730 electric vehicles have been acquired. The Bakassi Deep Seaport has federal approval and awaits construction, with about $3.5 billion in expected private investment.
Speaker Elvert Ayambem assured the governor that the Assembly would scrutinise the estimates before passage. He also asked Otu to rehabilitate the Assembly complex and Assembly Village, which he described as being in a deplorable condition.
What happens next: The House of Assembly will review the bill and decide when to pass it. The budget takes effect in the 2027 fiscal year.
