Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, whose election was nullified by the Court of Appeal, has presented a N96.7billion budget for 2016 to the state House of Assembly for approval.

Speaking in Umuahia on Thursday during the budget presentation, Ikpeazu who will likely challenge the Appeal court verdict, said that the budget was 22.8 per cent less than the 2015 budget of N102.4 billion.

The governor said that the 2016 budget was anchored on the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

“Our capital expenditure is proposed to be N37.8 billion while the recurrent expenditure will be N58.9bn,” the governor said.

Ikpeazu said that “in meeting the demands of the budget, we do not desire to compound the problems of the good people of Abia”.

He said that state government would apply prudent utilisation of available resources to achieve economic development, environmental sustainability, social inclusion and quality governance.

The governor said that the state government would not rely solely on federal allocation but had determined to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Ikpeazu said that the government was poised to increase its IGR by exploring the benefits of public-private partnership, creation of conducive environment for increased commercial activities and foreign investment.

Receiving the budget, the Speaker, Chief Martins Azubuike, told the governor that the house would give accelerated consideration to the bill.