By Martins Azuwike
On December 2, 2025, the Enugu State Governor, His Excellency, Peter Mbah, presented a N1.62 trillion budget for the 2026 fiscal year to the state’s House of Assembly. It’s unprecedented. No budget with such gargantuan figures had been heard of in the state before. Tagged “Budget of Renewed Momentum,” the budget is designed to drive the enormous development of infrastructure and to accelerate economic transformation. It is also meant to deliver concrete improvements in citizens’ daily lives. Eighty per cent of the budget (N1.29 trillion) is dedicated to capital projects, indicating the state’s prioritization of long-term development over short-term (recurrent) spending.
The presentation’s highlights show that it is the state’s largest budget ever, besting the 2025 figure by 66.5%. In 2026, expect to see a budget that projects the education-first, infrastructure-heavy, and reform-driven overarching strategy aimed at transforming Enugu into a modern hub of learning, healthcare, and economic opportunity.
Its allocation of a hefty 80% to capital expenditure remains both enormous and striking. With its capital investment focus, the government plans to execute projects on energy, hospitals, ICT infrastructure, roads, schools, and water systems. It is also a multi-year plan with a 2026-2028 framework aimed at consolidating reforms, scaling up growth, and modernizing Enugu State.
Infrastructure development focuses on the expansion and rehabilitation of highways, rural access roads, and urban transportation to boost trade and mobility. That’s for the roads and transport sector. It will also channel investment into power generation and distribution, including water supply projects to improve availability and reliability for households and businesses, and bolster the energy and utilities sector to higher pedestals. In the government’s urban renewal focus, modernization of Enugu city and satellite towns will be pursued with vigour, as attention is also paid to housing, drainage, and smart city projects. That’s economic infrastructure.
The social infrastructure side of the budget features education, healthcare, and social welfare. This will lead to the construction and upgrade of digital learning centres, schools, and vocational training hubs to prepare young people for modern jobs. New hospitals are to be built here, while primary health centres are to be upgraded. While improved medical equipment is to be provided to strengthen public health delivery, programmes targeting poverty reduction, women’s empowerment, and youth entrepreneurship will be implemented.
Under economic transformation, agriculture, industrial growth, and revenue generation will receive adequate attention. The idea is to embark on mechanization, irrigation, and agro-processing facilities to make Enugu a hub for food production and exports. Bold steps are also to be taken to diversify the economy beyond the status quo and federal allocations through industrial park development, ICT hubs, and support for SMEs. By any metric, the budget looks ambitious. Sustaining the spending plan will require strengthening the tax systems and the PPPs.
A state’s budget is a financial plan and a policy statement, the essence of which is to serve as a roadmap guiding how the government raises and spends money not only to achieve development goals and deliver services, but also to improve citizens’ welfare.
Generally, it is a guide to resource allocation, policy direction, and a tool for accountability, economic management, and service delivery. Based on this, limited resources are allocated across sectors such as health, education, security, and infrastructure during the budget’s lifespan. It also reflects the government’s priorities and vision for the year, indicating its preference for growth, reform, or welfare. The governed and legislatures can also depend on budgets to assess leaders’ delivery of promises and spending priorities. In addition, budgets can be a barometer to stabilize the economy by managing core factors such as inflation, debt, and investment in productive sectors of the economy for expansion. Furthermore, budgets ensure funding for essential services, including hospitals, roads, schools, and water supplies.
A Bird’s-eye View
· ₦1.62 trillion total budget (66% higher than 2025).
· ₦1.29 trillion for capital projects (80%).
· Revenue sources: ₦870bn IGR, ₦387bn FAAC, ₦329bn capital receipts.
The Budget’s Pillars
· Empowerment & Education
· People-centred Development
· Good Governance
· Economic Transformation
Sectoral priorities
· Education (32.27%)
Completion of Smart Primary Schools; rollout of Smart Secondary Schools and TVET colleges.
Continued investment in youth digital skills and technical empowerment.
· Infrastructure & Transportation
1,200 urban roads and major rural roads to be paved.
Completion of strategic dual-carriageways and expressways.
New transport terminals in Emene, Udi, Awgu, Four Corners, and Obollo Afor.
2,000 city taxis and the expansion of CNG buses.
Enugu Air to acquire 14 additional aircraft, bringing the total to 20.
· Housing
15,000 mass housing units in 2026 (first phase of 30,000).
Full infrastructure delivery at the New Enugu Smart City, projected to generate ₦300bn.
· Agriculture
Completion of 260 Farm Estates—each with warehouses, irrigation, power, and processing hubs.
Expansion of the palm products value chain and mechanisation via the Tractor Assembly Plant.
· Health (10%)
Completion of 260 Primary Healthcare Centres.
Upgrade of 51 secondary hospitals.
Completion of the 300-bed Enugu International Hospital and redevelopment of Parklane.
· Tourism
Upgrades at Awhum, Okpatu, Nsude, Ngwo Pine Forest (with Nigeria’s first zipline).
Development of Akwuke Sand Beach and ICC Hotel.
· Security
₦11bn for the second phase of AI-driven surveillance, covering 12 more LGAs.
Violent crime has already been reduced by over 80%.
· Social Welfare
₦20bn to clear gratuities.
Increased salaries and vehicles for traditional rulers.
Payment of severance for former councillors.
· Good Governance
Strengthened procurement, performance-based budgeting, and digital revenue systems.
Revenue automation eliminates leakages and increases transparency.
Do Budgets Matter?
Yes, they do. Although some commentators have referred to budgets as annual rituals, the value transcends such street-level wisdom and pedestrian reasoning. Those in doubt should consider the issues of equity, expectations, and transparency when budgets are used to monitor where public money goes, and citizens are allowed to demand accountability and probity. Budgets also highlight the proportion of development projects to rural and urban communities, in addition to citizens looking to them for concrete improvements in daily life, especially in employment, better infrastructure, and social programmes.
When a state presents its annual budget, it becomes the single most important instrument for translating the government’s promises into action, defining priorities, resource allocation, managing trade-offs, and providing a benchmark for accountability. And for citizens? Interesting. The essence of budgets is not only in the figures, but the extent to which those figures translate into better jobs, hospitals, schools, roads, and overall quality of life.
Sectoral Allocations
The 2026 budget allocates the largest share to education, which accounts for approximately one-third of the entire figure, followed by infrastructure, health, and other social and economic sectors.
Further breakdown shows that education is the clear priority, with N521 billion (32.3%) making it the largest sectoral allocation. The allocation includes N30 billion for a school feeding programme to provide one balanced meal daily to the state’s 260,000 pupils. This means N115,385 per pupil, or approximately N316 per day. Although the idea looks good, the figure appears meagre, given the current reality of the high cost of living in the country.
The budget is capital-intensive, with N1.62 trillion (80%) allocated to capital projects, indicating a strong focus on long-term development. Significant investments are to be made in roads, hospitals, housing, and utilities aimed at improving the quality of life and attracting investors to the healthcare and infrastructure segments. The budget also designs agriculture and ICT to diversify the economy, boost food security, and prepare youth for a tech-driven future.
Again, this means that students benefit from better schools, digital learning, and daily meals; entrepreneurs and farmers gain access to mechanization, agro-processing, and SME support; families experience improvements in electricity, healthcare, and water, and communities enjoy better housing, roads, and urban renewal projects.
Bigger Crux in the Milieu
In Nigeria, there’s always a catchphrase associated with budgets. They bear the lofty title of either “Budget of Renewed Momentum,” as in the case of Enugu state, “Budget of Renewed Hope,” or “Budget of Consolidation.” But beyond the rhetoric, where lies the true essence? In driving development despite limited revenues, building trust between government and citizens by showing commitment to welfare and infrastructure, and balancing debt and spending to avoid financial crises. Do not forget that many states in the country rely heavily on federal allocations for easy money and survival.
Budgets Trade-offs
Beyond spending big numbers, budgets also involve trade-offs to rebalance critical issues. Budget constraints could mean that when more is spent on education, for instance, there may be less immediate funding for healthcare, since the available resources are not inexhaustible. When top priority is placed on capital projects such as hospitals, roads, and schools, it can reduce funds for recurrent expenses like salaries. And stressing long-term growth can also delay short-term actions.
Guided by the Governor’s priorities, the budget is structured to focus strategically on three main goals: scaling up reforms already underway in governance and service delivery, deepening infrastructure growth to attract investors and improve living standards, and accelerating economic transformation to position the state as a competitive modern state.
For citizens, this means that better roads, electricity, and water supply will be available, improving the quality of life. It also means that expanded schools and hospitals will strengthen education and healthcare access, that job creation through industrial and agricultural investments will reduce unemployment and poverty, and that effective implementation and transparent management of funds can deliver long-term sustainability.
Analysts insist that Enugu State’s N1.62 trillion budget could be a pivotal point that can transform the state into a modern, competitive economy with stronger infrastructure, better social services, and more opportunities for its citizens, if diligently executed.
What Citizens Expect
The 2026 budget figures, strategies, and implementation roadmaps have been crafted, curated, and presented. But is it the be-all and end-all? Not the least. The expectations of citizens also count, imposing the need to build budgets around needs-based templates to accommodate citizens’ preferences. Citizens of the state, therefore, expect improvements in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and job creation, as long as the budget ensures transparency and effective implementation. The allocation for education across the 260 Smart Green Schools should effectively fight child malnutrition and boost school attendance. With N521 billion allocated to education, modern classrooms, digital learning tools, and vocational training that prepare youth for a tech-driven future are expected.
All said, experts maintain that “the 2026 budget should move beyond numbers and bring concrete enhancements in schools, hospitals, roads, electricity, and jobs,” adding: “the school feeding program and education reforms are especially seen as transformative, but citizens should also demand accountability to ensure the huge ₦1.62 trillion allocation translates into real change.”
Citizens’ Expectations versus Government’s Stated Priorities
These two sides share priorities in agriculture, education, infrastructure, healthcare, and ICT; chasms exist in jobs, fairness, and accountability, where citizens seem more focused on immediate, tangible benefits, while the government emphasizes long-term structural reforms.
Either way, the government must ensure that the colossal N1.62 trillion allocation for Enugu State translates into real, concrete improvements. Nothing less is desirable.
Martins Azuwike is an Economist, a member of the Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria (GPAAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and a multiple award-winning journalist in Banking/Finance (DAME Hall of Fame), Energy, Banking/Finance, Telecommunications (NMMA), and Business Analysis.
