The governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu has assented to the revised 2023 appropriation bill into law.
Christened ‘Budget of Quantum Infinitum’ by his predecessor, Professor Ben Ayade.
The revised law has a total of Two hundred and fifty billion, seven hundred and eighty one million, fifteen thousand, six hundred and sixty-one naira (N250, 781, 015, 661) as against N330 billion naira earlier approved.
Realistic framework
In a remark shortly after signing the Act, Governor Otu said the review was to enable his administration function within a realistic financial framework.
He commended the speaker, Mr. Elvert Ayambem and the other legislators for the speedy passage of the revised budget.
Otu said, “let me thank the speaker and the house for the speed in passing this law. One of the most difficult bills to pass in the legislature is the appropriation bill. It is the first bill I am signing into law in conformity with the ‘People’s First’ agenda. Collaborating with the House of Assembly, we shall achieve the desired results.
“With the signing into law of this revised appropriation bill, the people of Cross River will start seeing the real dividends of democracy, which will improve the fortunes of the state,” he said.
Explaining the importance of a downward review of the 2023 budget, Otu said it realistically reflected the exact income indices in line with current Internally Generated Revenue, IGR and monthly federal allocation.
Smooth takeoff
In a speech, the Speaker of the Cross River State Assembly, Mr. Ayambem said that members works hard to revise the budget downwards in record time to enable a smooth takeoff for the executive, taking into cognizance, the revenue accruing to the state.
Ayambem noted, “this is the most realistic budget in time past. The bill was reviewed in the light of the state’s financial income. The people will be happy with this budget size. The legislative bottlenecks were observed and all due process strictly followed.
“I can rest assure that the executive now has a good ground to takeoff.
He gave assurance of the cooperation and collaboration of the House of Assembly in providing good governance to the state.
Lateefah Ibrahim
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