2021 Cross River Budget: I’M Leaving Non Humanitarian Projects, To Address Unemployment___Ben Ayade

Earlier today I presented a budget of N277,708,785,550 to the Cross River State House of Assembly tagged Budget of Blush and Bliss.

Out of the figure, N192,511,985,550 representing 69% of the entire budget is earmarked for recurrent expenditure while N85,196,800,000 representing 31% is for capital expenditure.

I decided along with my executive council after due consultation that the budget of this year will focus more on the humanitarian perspective.

We have decided to shift focus from infrastructure, from big projects and refocus on the people. So this is the people’s budget, a budget that for the first time we are shifting from infrastructure, from major projects, from all the big dreams and projects that can actually create opportunity to focus on the very essence of existence, hunger and poverty.

This budget takes care of unemployment, takes care of the issues of security consistent with the provisions of the Constitution in section 14 sub Section 2.

We have decided to focus so much on Agriculture, youth Employment, Social housing and youth skill development.

On security, the budget has a provision for establishment of neighborhood security watch which will deal with the issues of neighborhood protection and also create a lot of jobs for graduates and non graduates alike.

The extension of NYSC is adequately provided in the budget to ensure our young graduates do not despair upon leaving camp.

We have also made adequate provisions for agriculture to ensure that all young people who study agriculture upon leaving school move into the agricultural sub Sector by providing for procurement of equipment , clearing of land and supporting our people with funds for agricultural inputs.

We have decided to reactivate the elders council, the youth forum and to see how we can finance and encourage school programs, we’ve introduced scholarships and bursaries, we have introduced all of these that appeals to young people so they can see that this is their government.

Blush because it is a thing of shame of where we are coming from, blush because we are going through a situation where our face is red and in pain, it is blush because we are coming away from our big dreams of kinetic crystallization, from our olimpotic agenda and reducing ourselves to a consumptive effort just to reflect the mood of the times.

Credit: Cross River State Government