Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, has signed the N567.2 billion 2024 Appropriations Bill into law. The bill was just ratified by the State House of Assembly.
Otti stated that Abia would transition from its current state of underdevelopment to development in his signing of the bill on Thursday.
“I want to say that this is a budget that would take Abia State out of underdevelopment to development. The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. This is the first step, once we get things right, and we know we will get them right, the next few years will be Uhuru for all our people, those living here and those who come from here and our friends,” the Governor declared.
“That we devoted 84% of the budget to capital expenditure is not an error. If you go through the details of the budget, you will find out that every kobo we intend to borrow will go into infrastructure or be mapped out to infrastructure. Our discussions are on and we believe that as we require the funding, we will get them,” he affirmed.
The Governor insisted that all borrowed funds for the budget would go toward capital expenditures and added that the plan is anticipated to attract both domestic and foreign investment, support large and medium-sized enterprises, safeguard the State, and get Abia ready for the next phase of growth.
Otti expressed his gratitude to the Speaker and the State House of Assembly members for their outstanding work, which facilitated the bill’s quick passage.
The budget would have a good impact on the lives of the Abia people, according to the Speaker of the House, Rt Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, who earlier confirmed that 84% of the budget is for capital expenditures and 16% is for recurring expenditures.
As per his statement, the objective of approving the budget prior to December 31, 2023, is to guarantee that the 2024 Budget commences operations on January 1, 2024.
The Accountant General of the State, Commissioners, Special Advisers, and members of the State House of Assembly were present for the signing ceremony for the 2024 budget.
