Reimagining Enugu - 2026 Budget and Economic Vision

Daftar Isi

A New Era for Enugu: Economic Reset and Visionary Leadership

Standing in Ogbete Main Market, one can almost sense the transformation of Enugu. There was a time when the city's rhythm revolved around Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Day, with people eagerly awaiting what came from Abuja. Development was sporadic—roads were patched, school blocks repainted, and boreholes worked only briefly before failing. The government operated as a caretaker rather than a builder, leaving Enugu trapped in a survival mindset, dependent on allocations.

What is happening now, however, signals a different approach—a bold economic reset that brings hope. When Governor Peter Mbah introduced a 2026 budget of about N1.62 trillion, it wasn’t just the size that stood out; it was the implication. A 66.5% increase from the previous year showed confidence. More importantly, the structure revealed a shift: 80% of the budget was allocated to capital expenditure, while 20% went to recurrent expenses. In a political culture where salaries and overheads usually dominate, this ratio represents a quiet revolution. It signals a move from merely keeping the lights on to building the future. This trend has been consistent over the years, with similar ratios in 2024 and 2025.

Of course, such a reset begins with skepticism. When the administration spoke about a $30 billion state economy, AI-supported security, smart schools in every ward, and a government driven by internally generated revenue (IGR) rather than FAAC, many responded with guarded politeness. Traders, mechanics, and farmers still faced broken roads, dry taps, and unreliable public institutions. Big promises had come and gone before.

But something has changed. Now, there are numbers and concrete images attached to the rhetoric. Over 1,000 kilometers of roads have been completed or fixed, showing tangible progress. 260 Smart Green Primary Schools are either complete or nearly so, each in a different ward, reflecting real investment. 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres, designed to operate 24/7 and powered by solar energy, are already in operation. New bus terminals at Holy Ghost, Abakpa, Garriki, and Nsukka have brought order to chaotic transport flows. Water is flowing again in many parts of Enugu from the 9th Mile and Oji River Schemes after decades of scarcity.

The fiscal story aligns with the physical transformation. In 2025, Enugu operated on a budget of about N971 billion and is on track to implement roughly 83% of it. By year-end, about N806 billion will have been spent, representing around 97.5% of all funds that entered the state. FAAC inflows, initially projected at N150 billion, came in closer to N230 billion. IGR is set to exceed N400 billion, more than triple the previous year’s figure. These are not signs of complacency but of a state stretching itself and maintaining balance.

None of this came without challenges. Expanding the tax net, automating payments, insisting on digital receipts, and shutting down leakages and informal arrangements caused pain. For months, citizens felt enforcement before seeing benefits. Traders in Ogbete and Abakpa heard about smart schools and modern hospitals but still battled dust, potholes, and petty officials. The question was, "When will this touch my life?" That question feels less sharp now, as some of the promised changes have become tangible.

The most radical choice in these numbers may be the decision to place education at the center of the reset. Enugu has devoted over 30% of its entire budget to education for three consecutive years. This is a deliberate act of defiance in a country where education is often the first line to be cut when revenues fall. The 260 Smart Green Schools across the state are not just about aesthetics; they represent a different assumption about what a child in a village classroom deserves—digital tools, laboratories, stable power, and teachers prepared for a tech-driven curriculum.

This move from fragments to systems is visible in other sectors. Agriculture is being reimagined from scattered interventions into a network of 260 Farm Estates, each 200 hectares, with central warehouses, tractor sheds, irrigation, power, and water. This is an attempt to drag farming out of subsistence and into scale and value addition. Housing is not treated as a side project, with 15,000 mass housing units planned for 2026 as the first phase of a 30,000-unit target. Tourism, often dismissed as soft spending, is being structured as a real industry, with projects like the International Conference Centre 5-Star Hotel and Nigeria's first zip-line.

Infrastructure is the spine tying this together. Roads are not just about ease of movement; they are arteries for commerce. Strategic routes like the Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu-Neke-Ikem dual carriageway and the Abakpa Nike-Ugwogo-Ekwegbe-Opi-Nsukka corridor are economic statements. The plan to pave 1,200 urban roads in 2026 and extend rural networks reflects a belief that better movement leads to better money flow.

Yet the most decisive part of this reset may be the least visible: the work on institutions and trust. The Enugu State Citizens' Charter is a written promise of service standards against which government can be measured. Digitized land records, automated receipts, bank-linked payment systems, and stricter procurement rules are unglamorous reforms that determine whether big budgets translate into real projects.

Security remains the bedrock of this reset. A tech-driven, intelligence-led framework has significantly reduced violent crime. Ordinary people recognize the change: Monday markets are back, travel at dawn or dusk feels safer, and investors can visit without treating each trip as a gamble.

To take the reset seriously is also to take its risks seriously. While Enugu achieved about 85% of its total projected inflows in 2025, capital receipts underperformed due to ongoing construction. The 2026 budget relies heavily on assets like the International Conference Centre and New Enugu City to generate non-FAAC revenue. These projects exist in a real economy subject to shocks, but the transformation in Enugu is undeniable.

"Tomorrow is here" is the administration's mantra. In truth, tomorrow arrives in fragments: a smart classroom where there was once a rickety structure, a rural clinic that works at midnight, a farmer using mechanization for the first time, a trader who does not shut her stall in fear. Enugu's economic reset is still an experiment—imperfect, incomplete. But for the first time in a long while, the state is not waiting passively for its future to be decided in Abuja. It is trying, with unusual intensity, to build that future with its own hands, its own tools, and its own imagination.