The Chairman, Delta State House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appreciation, Hon Erhiateke Ibori-Suenu says the supplementary Appropriation amendment bill 2021 was key to addressing challenges faced by government as a result of the global Covid 19 pandemic.
Hon Ibori-Suenu stated this while fielding questions from Assembly Correspondents immediately after the third reading and passage of the Supplementary Appropriation amendment bill by the State Assembly.
The Finance and Appropriation Committee Chairman, Hon Erhiateke Ibori-Suenu, stated that the supplementary budget should not have come at a more better time than now as the whole world was in serious economic crisis resulting from the ravaging Covid 19 pandemic.
Hon Ibori-Suenu who represents Ethiope West Constituency in the House explained that the sad narratives also affected the economy of the state, regardless the fact that Delta is an oil producing state.
The Lawmaker stated that it was very impressive for the State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa to have forwarded the Supplementary Appropriation Bill to the House before the 2022 budget and commended the initiative.
Hon Ibori-Suenu pointed out that it was also commendable that the executive was able to go through the 2021 Appropriation law sector by sector to identify idols funds that should be moved to areas of critical need.
She said the development showed the proactive nature of Okowa’s led administration in the governance of the state, stressing that the Governor was committed to achieving more positive changes in the state despite the obvious challenges.
“It is noteworthy that His Excellency, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, together with his executive was able to go through the Appropriation Law sector by sector to come up with all that is contained in the Supplementary Appropriation Bill. Honestly, this shows that the state is working, the state is proactive and willing to do more for Deltans even in this hard times”, Hon Ibori Suenu stated.
Saying that she is very proud to be part of the success stories of the PDP led government in Delta State, the Lawmaker, said the approved Supplementary budget would bring greater dividends of democracy to Deltans.
Hon Ibori-Suenu urged the executive to hit the ground running as soon as the governor assent to the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, emphasizing that the year has been quite slow economically.
The Chairman, Finance and Appropriation Committee, noted that with the passage of the supplementary budget, the legislature has given the executive access to funds, saying that it is expected that most on going projects would be completed before the end of the year.
“My expectations are quite simple. I hope that now that the bill is passed, as soon as the governor assent to it, I expect the executive to immediately hit the ground running because the whole year has been quite slow economically. Giving them the access to funds, they can quickly start working and try to complete a good number of ongoing projects before the end of the year“, she emphasized.