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Reports have revealed that the Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has finally signed the 2022 Revised Appropriation Bill of ₦170 billion into law.
Governor Soludo had given his assent to the budget on Friday at a brief ceremony held at the Council Chamber of the Government House in Awka, the state capital.
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Governor Soludo had also expressed joy at what he described as the responsible and responsive conduct of members of the State House of Assembly in passing the revised budget. He commended their transparency and gave an assurance that infrastructural development would receive a major boost in the state, stressing the need to meet the expectations of the people.
At the end of the ceremony, the Speaker of the House, Uchenna Okafor, who was also present said thorough scrutiny was done to set better figures on priority areas in the budget for greater impact.
He also hinted that the lawmakers have consented to the governor’s request for a ₦100 billion loan, adding that Anambra would witness a massive infrastructural development soon.
Read the post below:
My first reaction as I signed the revised 2022 budget was gratitude to a responsive and responsible Legislature.
I thank them for a strong partnership, which of course is a fundamental pillar of our quest for good governance. I feel deeply grateful to the leadership of the House for being able to deliver the revised budget on time.
In a world where this kind of process is fraught with under-hand dealings, I can beat my chest to say the Honourable Members of the House of Assembly did their work with integrity.
Not a penny exchanged hands for inducement or any such thing. Indeed, this is the sign of a new way of approaching governance that we are excited to the mainstream.
On the budget financing, I am also very happy that the House has graciously approved our request to borrow a 100 billion naira. I understand, in the short term, the people cannot wait; which is why as part of our financing plan, we have moved to borrow.
Out of the 250 billion required per annum to fill our critical infrastructure gap, we have settled for 100 billion which we hope to roll over to next year’s budget.
For every kobo of this borrowing, we will channel it to meet our critical infrastructure needs. We have chosen a multi-strategy approach, first is bringing prudence to public expenditure, boycotting all unnecessary spendings, and ratcheting up our internally generated revenue.
We are also cleaning our wage bill, increasing focus on paying off the backlog of pensions and gratuity arrears, including those of Local Government workers.
The journey towards a liveable and prosperous homeland has only begun. Ndị Anambra will get value for every kobo of this budget.
With a state of emergency on our public finances, we are determined to take painful, but necessary steps to rebuild our Homeland.
May Anambra continue to succeed.
