…Presents Law Establishing State Bureau of Statistics
By Chimezie Godfrey
Governor Samuel Ortom has assented to the 2022 supplementary budget with internal reviews and adjustments that maintain the appropriation envelope of N175,903,441,384.
The bill was recently passed by the Benue State House Assembly.
The breakdown of the 2022 appropriation law shows that N100,891,610, 446 is for recurrent expenditure while the sum of N75,011,830,938 is meant for capital expenditure.
The Governor also presented a Law which he had already assented to for the “Establishment of Benue State Statistics Systems and State Bureau of Statistics for Collection, Compilation, Analysis, Storage and Dissemination of Statistical Data Information and other Related Matters.”
He performed the ceremony Thursday, November 10th, 2022 in the Conference Hall of the Governor’s official residence at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi.
Governor Ortom in his remarks shortly before assenting to the law acknowledged the robust relationship between the three tiers of Government in the state which has ensured the implementation of policies and programmes.
He particularly noted that the executive and legislative arms of government have over the years worked closely and executed the mandate for the people without any gaps.
According to the Governor, “I have worked with this Assembly and they have due respect for the executive just as we do for the Assembly.”
He emphasized that right from the inception of his administration, he has maintained that he will never do anything to undermine the integrity of the three tiers of government.
“We appreciate the separation of powers and at all times, we will do the needful to ensure seamless understanding and execution of government policies and programmes and this is one of them.”
He went on: “I remember that the House of Assembly had cautioned that it will always be better if a supplementary budget is presented before the budget presentation for that fiscal year.
“In the past two years, this is what we have done. We took that advice and we have succeeded in doing this. We did that last year and we have it today. We presented our supplementary budget before the budget for 2023 and today speedily the State House of Assembly has succeeded in passing this supplementary budget.”
The Governor also expressed optimism about the passage of the 2023 budget saying, “We are looking forward to the fact that before the end of the year, the State Assembly will also pass the 2023 appropriation bill and we, by the grace of God, will also sign it into law before the year ends.”
He commended the House of Assembly, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs that were involved in responding to all issues that were raised by the House of Assembly before the passage of the supplementary budget, stating that “We look forward to more robust operations of our mandate for our people.”
On the law for the establishment of the State Bureau of Statistics, the Governor said it was assented to in order to give legal backing to the agency, adding that going forward, the state will have enough data and accurate figures from Benue State.
The Deputy Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Christopher Adaji in his brief remarks said the Assembly had passed the 2022 supplementary budget to enable the State Government to meet its obligations to the people.
State Deputy Governor, Engr Benson Abounu, Head of Service, Mrs. Veronica and other members of the Executive and Security Councils also witnessed the ceremony.
