Cross River State Governor, Sen. Bassey Otu, signed the revised 2023 appropriation bill into law on Thursday, in realisation of his “People’s First” agenda.
The appropriation bill has a total sum of two hundred and fifty billion, seven hundred and eighty-one million, fifteen thousand, six hundred and sixty-one naira (N250,781,015,661), a downward review from the previous budget size of N330 billion.
Recall that the 2023 appropriation bill, which was signed by the immediate past administration, had a total sum of Three Hundred and Thirty billion naira.
Speaking at the event, Sen. Otu said the need to review the 2023 budget became expedient because of his government’s decision to work within a realistic financial framework of the State.
“Let me start by thanking the speaker and the house for the speed in passing this bill. 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, Cross Riverians will start seeing the real dividends of democracy, which will improve the fortunes of the state,” the governor said.
According to the Governor, the essence of the downward review of the budget is to capture the true income indices and make the bill more realistic in line with the current reality in Internally Generated Revenue as well as the monthly allocation from the federation to the state.
Earlier, the speaker, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, expressed gratitude to his colleagues for working assiduously to see that work on the budget was completed in record time.
According to the speaker, the budget was reviewed downward to enable the government to work with the state’s income revenue.
“It is the most realistic budget in time past, the bill was reviewed in light of the state’s financial income. Cross Riverians will be happy with the size of this budget.
“The legislative bottlenecks were observed, and all due processes strictly followed, and I assure you that the executive now has a good ground to take off.”
The Speaker assures the governor of a harmonious working synergy between the legislature and the executive in providing good governance to the state.
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