The Governor of Delta State,
Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has assented to the 2017 Appropriation Bill of N294.5
billion with an assurance that his administration will not waver in its
commitment to infrastructural development.
The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.
Monday Igbuya, accompanied by his Deputy, Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi, Clerk of the
House, Mrs Lyna Ochukor, and other principal officers of the DTHA presented passed the Appropriation Bill Tuesday (14/03/17) at
the occasion which took place in Government House Asaba and was witnessed by
members of the Delta State Executive Council and other top government
functionaries.
“We have a budget of approximately N294
billion in the year 2017 and it is our hope that the finances coming from
various sectors will improve in the course of this year so that we are able to
meet with our obligations to our people” the governor said, disclosing, “the
budget is made up of N158 billion in recurrent expenditure and N136 billion in
capital expenditure.”
Governor Okowa continued,
“The recurrent expenditure is high because we have a heavy wage bill when it
comes to the issue of payment of salary but, beyond that, the state is also
spending N31 billion in the servicing of debts in the course of the year.”
He commended the Delta
State House of Assembly for its cooperation with the Executive arm especially
with regards to the speedy passage of Executive Bills, stating that government
will intensify its drive to boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to meet
its infrastructural drive.
Governor Okowa used the
occasion to thank the youths of the state for their cooperation in ensuring
peaceful environment for developmental projects to take place, noting that a
lot was being done by his administration in attracting developmental projects
to the creeks and the riverine communities.
“The state government will
continue with its infrastructural development of the riverine areas this year;
we are facing the realities on the ground because, the riverine areas needs
infrastructure just like the upland,” he said, reiterating, “the more we put
infrastructure in the riverine areas, the less there will be slum areas in the
cities and towns; I want to assure you that it is possible to truly impact on
these riverine communities and make them better places to inhabit and improve
on the economy.”
Rt. Hon. Igbuya while
presenting the budget, informed the governor that the appropriation bill was
presented to the House of Assembly in November, 2016 and passed through all due
legislative procedures before it was passed by the House in February, 2017,
He assured Governor Okowa
of the continuous cooperation of the House in making laws that will improve the
lots of Deltans.
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