By Pamela Eboh
Governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has written the State House of Assembly to approve a loan of N100b for him to facilitate the construction and refurbishment of key infrastructure in the state.
Reading the Governor’s letter dated July 5, 2022, to lawmakers during plenary on Friday, the Speaker, Hon Uche Okafor said, “Mr Governor, is seeking approval to secure a N100 billion Global Limit Multiple Term Loan Facility for the construction and refurbishment of key Infrastructures in the state.”
The House Committee on Public Accounts which the letter was referred to for consideration is expected to revert to the whole house on Thursday, July 21.
Meanwhile, the lawmakers also passed the State 2022 Revised Appropriation Bill of N169.6 billion.
The approval came about 55 days after Governor Soludo presented the bill to the House for approval.
The passage followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, led by Hon Obinna Emeneka, during plenary.
Presenting the report, Emeneka, (Anambra East Constituency), said that the revised budget was made up of N108 billion capital expenditure and N61.3 billion recurrent expenditure.
While recommending that the size of the 2022 revised budget be retained, except for little adjustments in some ministries, department and agencies’ allocation, he added, “The sum of N169,621,744,131 be 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 be specified and funds should be released to MDAs to ensure effective budget performance.”
The Speaker of the House, Mr Uche Okafor hailed the committee for what he called a thorough scrutiny of the budget, even as he conducted a voice vote for the adoption of the report.
Following the passage, the Speaker directed the Acting Clerk of the House, Mrs Esther Anaetoh, to send a copy of the bill to Soludo for his accent.
Recall that Soludo had on assumption of office on March 17,2022 revealed that he inherited a heavy debt from his predecessor, Chief Willie Obiano.
