The Anambra State House of Assembly on Friday passed the state 2022 Revised Appropriation Bill of N169.6 billion.
The approval came more than 55 days after Gov. Charles Soludo presented the bill to the House.
The passage followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation during the plenary in Awka.
Presenting the report, Mr. Obinna Emeneka, representing Anambra East Constituency and chairman of the committee, said that the revised budget was made up of N108 billion capital expenditure and N61.3 billion recurrent expenditure.
“After thorough scrutiny and review, we recommend that the size of the 2022 revised budget be retained except for little adjustments in some Ministries, Departments and Agencies' (MDAs) allocation.
“That the sum of N169,621,744,131 is approved for the service of the Anambra State Government for the year ending Dec. 31, 2022, and for related purposes.
“The committee also recommends that subsequently, projects and contractors are specified and funds should be released to MDAs to ensure effective budget performance,” Emeneka.
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Uche Okafor, commended the committee for thorough scrutiny of the budget and conducted a voice vote for the adoption of the report.
The House passed the bill after the voice vote and the speaker directed the acting Clerk of the House, Mrs. Esther Anaetoh, to send a copy of the bill to Soludo for his assent
Newsmen report that the 2022 revised budget was N27.7 billion higher than the N141.9 billion budget initially approved for former Gov. Willie Obiano
Also at the plenary, the Speaker read a letter from Gov. Soludo, dated July 5, seeking approval to secure an N100 billion Global Limit Multiple Term Loan Facility for the construction and refurbishment of key infrastructure in the state.
The letter was referred to the House Committee on Public Accounts for consideration and they would report to the House on Thursday, July 21.
The Speaker also announced that there would be a valedictory session in honour of the late Dr. Okechukwu Okoye, who represented Aguata Constituency ll, on Tuesday, July 19.
Recall that late Okoye was abducted on May 15, while the police in the state confirmed his death on May 21.