The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has approved the sum of N190.5 billion as a supplementary budget for the state government for 2024 fiscal year.
The approval which has the unanimous endorsement of the members of the House took place during an emergency plenary at the Legislative Complex on Tuesday.
The supplementary budget has N174, 232, 794, 400, 41k as capital expenditure, N16, 348, 400, 600 as recurrent while N2,183,150 is personal expenditure.
The Speaker, Moses Odunwa, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Chinedu Onah commended the governor, Francis Nwifuru, for always having the interest of Ebonyi people at heart and the members of the House for their collaborative role in the discharge of the People’s Charter of Needs agenda of the present administration.
In a motion, the Leader of the house, Kingsley Ikor, pleaded with his colleagues for speedy approval of the budget, noting that the current inflation rate in the country is a serious concern and has negatively affected the market cost of items.
He expressed conviction in the judicious appropriation of the fund by the state governor and that the supplementary budget will go a long way in fixing expenditures not appropriated for at the initial appropriation.
In the same vein, the Deputy Chief Whip representing Ishielu South State Constituency, Lucas Chukwu and his Izzi West State Constituency counterpart, Godwin Abiri, described the supplementary budget as apt, an act of accountability for occupying office thrust and expected earlier given to the present economic downturn in the country and appealed to their colleagues for expeditious approval.
The Clerk of the house, Blessing Edene, was later directed to make a memo to the governor informing him of the approval of the house members on his request.
