Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has signed into law a N338 billion Appropriation Bill for 2015.
Signing the bill at the Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday, Governor Amaechi said his administration would continue to be purposeful in expending the state budget.
According to him, his administration has been very frugal in spending state funds on meeting the needs of the people.
“We will implement this budget until May 29. Nobody can say that we did not perform, from education to health; when people say our legacy is education, I laugh. The health centres that we have built all over the state are there as projects that will be remembered by all. The roads, if you remember when we took over, how narrow our roads were and how many roads we had in the state”, Amaechi said.
He noted that not only had he been frugal, he could account for how money was spent on various projects.
Amaechi thanked members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for being good partners towards the attainment of success by his administration.
“Let me thank the House for the opportunity to sign one more budget before I depart from office. I’m excitedly looking forward to departing from this office because it is extremely tedious, but I must thank you that all efforts at breaking down the House and Government were not successful”, he said.
He urged Rivers people to vote for the APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside in the forthcoming election and rescue the state from the hands of “intending hijackers of the state treasury”.
Before presenting the State Appropriation Bill for the governor’s assent, leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd expressed the satisfaction of the House in the amount allocated to both capital and recurrent expenditure.
He said the government’s capital expenditure of N219 billion and recurrent expenditure of N119 billion was appealing to the State Assembly which earlier passed the budget after a close study.
Speaking with journalists on the budget, the State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Chamberlain Peterside said the Amaechi administration would continue to pay salaries, pensions and conduct the business of government within the Appropriation Law.
