Cross River Assembly approves N642.16 billion for 2025 supplementary budget

The Cross River State House Assembly has approved a N642.16 billion supplementary budget for the 2025 fiscal year, showing a variance of N142 billion from the initial budget, representing a 26% increase. The Chairman of the Assembly Finance and Appropriation Committee, Mr. Okon Owuna, stated that the additional budget allocation would accommodate critical expenditures not captured in the original 2025 budget.

The supplementary budget includes adjustments across sectors such as administration, economic, law, justice, and others. Lawmakers noted that Governor Bassey Otu's commitment to infrastructure development in all 18 Local Government Areas of the state necessitated the approval.

The Speaker, Mr. Elvert Ayambem, emphasized the importance of the supplementary budget in improving the welfare of citizens and transforming the state. Additionally, the Cross River State Internal Revenue Service plans to implement a Review Session starting January 2026 to address concerns raised by credit rating agencies about the state's growing debt burden and ambitious capital expenditure plans.