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Joe Effiong, Uyo
Akwa lbom State House of Assembly has amended the 2020 Appropriation Law from N597.74 billion to N195, 6 billion due to the sharp decline in the price of crude oil at the international oil Market as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the process, the House has discarded a whopping N402.14 billion from the hitherto ambitious 2020 budget.
Governor Udom Emmanuel had on Monday hinted that the budget would be slashed once the house reconvenes as the current budget size was unrealistic.
Consequently, the state lawmakers on Wednesday, unanimously passed the 2020 Budget Amendment Bill to Law after receiving a letter from Mr Emmanuel, which stated the need to review the budget to align with the reality on ground.
Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr Aniekan Bassey, said; “It is true that our state is at war with an unseen enemy, the Coronavirus. As Akwa lbom people, we are strong, resilient, unbroken and unbowed to the pandemic.”
He charged the citizens of Akwa lbom State to curb the spread of the Coronavirus by staying safe, observing social distancing and other preventive methods. He directed the Clerk of the House to communicate the amended Bill to the State Governor.
Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr. Aniefiok Dennis, told journalists after the plenary that the special sitting was necessitated by the global economic realities as posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House was adjourned to Thursday, May 7.
