24th December, 2023
By Taiwo Okanlawon
The Abia State House of Assembly has passed the budget proposal for 2024 into law following a comprehensive presentation by the House Joint Committee on appropriation, budget, and planning.
Governor Alex Otti had presented a draft budget on December 12th, valued at N567,240,095,972.
In the “Budget of New Beginning,” Otti proposed to spend 84 percent of the total budget estimate on capital projects, while 16 percent will go to recurrent expenditure.
The Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa, disclosed that the House Joint Committee on Appropriation made nuanced adjustments, augmenting the recurrent expenditure to N91,498,547,579 from the initial estimate of N91,228,778,079.
He said, “Simultaneously, the capital expenditure was marginally reduced to N475,741,548,393. from N476,011,317,893, ensuring equitable allocation for specific projects and mitigating the impact on certain MDAs.
“The committee’s report was duly adopted as the working document of the house, initiating the consideration of the report and the bill in the Committee of the Whole.
“Subsequently, the bill successfully underwent its third reading and was officially enacted into law. In declaring the passage of the bill, I specified that the new legislation shall be cited as the “2024 Appropriation Law of Abia State of Nigeria” and shall take effect from the 1st day of January 2024.”
Emeruwa expressed heartfelt gratitude to his colleagues for their dedicated efforts and contributions, which ensured a meticulous examination of every facet of the bill.
Meanwhile, the Abia State House of Assembly has adjourned plenary for Christmas and New Year celebrations and announced Thursday, January 18, 2024, to resume its legislative activities.