The Cross River House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation has commenced its mid-year budget performance review as part of preparations for adopting the economic strategy for the 2026 fiscal year.
As part of the exercise, the committee on Wednesday visited the state’s Accountant-General’s office, following earlier visits to the Commissioner for Finance and the Chairman of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Chairman of the committee, Mr Okon Owuna, who represents Akamkpa 1 State Constituency, stated that the oversight visit was in line with the constitutional mandate of the House. He explained that the review would assess subheads including Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), capital receipts, recurrent expenditure, and capital expenditure.
Responding, the State Accountant-General, Dr Glory Effiong, told the committee that Cross River had emerged as the best-performing state in Public Finance Management in Nigeria.
She said the administration of Governor Bassey Otu was committed to aligning the state’s financial system with global standards. She also disclosed that the state’s IGR had surpassed projections for the first half of the year, attributing this to various innovations in the accounting system.
“We migrated from the general financial way of reporting to international accounting standards, including the maintenance of an asset register, among others,” she noted.
“Cross River maintains a transparent system which has resulted in improved IGR for the first half of 2025 (January to June),” she added.
Effiong further stated that the government intended to clear outstanding gratuities, and clarified that the non-payment of Forestry Guards previously employed was due to lack of due approvals and adequate distribution.
During the committee’s visit to the Ministry of Finance, Commissioner Dr Michael Odere reaffirmed the governor’s commitment to transparency, which he said had led to significant achievements across the state.
Similarly, Chairman of the Cross River IRS, Mr Edwin Okon, reported that the state had exceeded its revenue target for the period under review. He attributed this to Governor Otu’s emphasis on transparency and accountability.
(NAN)