For the first time in years, the Cross River State House of Assembly has expanded — rather than slashed — the State’s annual budget, approving a ₦642 billion supplementary appropriation for 2025.

The approval, which represents a 26% increase from the ₦538 billion “Budget of Sustainable Growth” passed last December, marks a break from the past, where budget shortfalls often forced downward reviews instead of additional spending.

Chairman of the Finance and Appropriation Committee, Okon Owuna, told lawmakers on Tuesday that the supplementary budget was driven by Governor Bassey Otu’s aggressive push for infrastructural projects across all 18 Local Government Areas. He listed new obligations, emergency spending, and recently approved strategic programmes as the main triggers for the expansion.

“This is not just about more money,” Owuna said. “It’s about creating fiscal space to meet urgent needs in administration, economic development, justice delivery, and social sectors, all supported by improved Internally Generated Revenue, grants, and federal allocations.”

The development was also framed as a win for legislative oversight. Owuna praised the Otu-led government for following the constitutional process of passing a supplementary appropriation law, noting that in previous years, amendments to the Appropriation Law replaced proper budgetary additions.

Speaker Elvert Ayambem reinforced the welfare angle of the move, assuring that projects in every LGA have been captured, with an eye on transforming the state’s infrastructure and services.

While supporters hail the budget expansion as a sign of fiscal confidence and political will, observers say the real test will be whether the additional ₦104 billion translates into visible improvements in roads, healthcare, and local government projects — or whether it will vanish into the familiar potholes of bureaucratic inefficiency.