Obaseki provides Edo with a N320.35 billion budget for 2023.

The N320.35 billion budget, which represents a 69.37% increase over the N222 billion planned for the year 2022, was presented to the Edo State House of Assembly yesterday by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Obaseki presented the budget to the Assembly while seated at the Anthony Enahoro Assembly Complex in Benin City. According to a statement by Crusoe Osagie, the governor’s media adviser, the budget included N127.5 billion for recurring expenses and N192 billion for capital expenditures.

The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Osaigbovo Iyoha, and the Head of Service for Edo State, Anthony Okungbowa were all in attendance during the budget presentation.

Other commissioners are Chris Nehikhare, in charge of communication and orientation; Monday Osaigbovo, in charge of local government and chieftaincy affairs; Aishatu Braimoh, in charge of business, investment, and cooperatives; and Andrew Emwanta, in charge of youth and gender issues.

The budget, dubbed “Budget of Resilience and Transformation,” was inspired, in the governor’s words, by the need to “create a durable and sustainable basis for the reforms, initiatives, and programs that we have embarked on in the previous six years.”

Our strategic objective, he said, is to use industry, technology, agriculture, the arts, culture, and entertainment as a catalyst to encourage continuous investment in all facets of the Edo economy.