The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, on Monday, signed into law the revised 2020 Appropriation Bill.
The 2020 Budget was revised from N530,813,357,619.00 to N300,370,071,183.33 bn.
This was contained in a statement by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim.
Wike, while performing the ceremony in his office at Government House, Port Harcourt, after receiving it from the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Martin Amaewhule, said his government would work within the budget, to ensure that the people get its benefits.
He said: “It is most unfortunate that everybody is living a different life now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which calls for us to face the economic reality.
“The COVID-19 has affected economic activities and revenues of the government, and so it became necessary to review our budget.
“By the revised budget, it means that so many things have to change. We have cut down the capital and recurrent expenditure to face reality.
“We are the only State that has not cut down the salaries of political appointees and elected officers.
“Virtually all the States have cut down 20 to percent of salaries of political appointees.
“Having cut down the recurrent expenditures, the overhead will no longer be the same.”
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