Hon. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has signed into law, the state’s 2013 appropriation bill ofN304.05billion. According to the law as passed by the State House of Assembly, recurrent expenditure stood at N142.1billion while N161.9billion is for capital expenditure.

Governor Dickson had in December 2012 presented a budgetary proposal of N285.9billion to the State House of Assembly for approval. However, after sectoral review, the Assembly increased the budget by N19billion before passing it into law.  However, after sectoral review, the Assembly increased the budget by N19bn before passing it into law.

Singing  the bill into law, the Governor attributed the delay in its presentation to last year’s flooding that ravaged the entire communities in the state and the ill-fated Helicopter crash that claimed the lives of the former National Security Adviser, General Owoye Azazi and late Governor of Kaduna State, Sir Patrick Yakowa.

He commended the efforts of the lawmakers for their commitment towards the actualisation of the Restoration Agenda, saying that his economic team would soon commence the preparation of the 2014 Appropriation bill, adding that this would ensure its early presentation and passage in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Law.

According to him, ‘we are not only going to partner with the House of Assembly as we have always done but also specifically (on this issue of appropriation) work to ensure that by the grace of God, we comply with the fiscal responsibility law which obliges us to submit an appropriation bill earlier than we did last year. ‘

On the implementation of the newly signed appropriation bill, the governor said, ‘on our part, we intend to follow this budget scrupulously. We intend to implement it to the latter as you have passed it. Where there are difficulties and  shortfalls or any area we need to work with the Assembly, we will not hesitate to bring that to your notice because (after all) a budget is only a statement of intent, it is a broad policy financial document.”

“I want to request you and members of your House to also support Government as you have always done by exercising the full ambit of your oversight powers over all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, so that we can all work together to ensure that set goals and targets are achieved to enable us bring prosperity, development and security to the good people of this state, he added.

Earlier, the Speaker of the House of Assembly; Rt. Hon. Friday Kombowei Benson attributed the increment in the budget to the present administration’s drive for development.

“The increase is because of your (Governor) ambitious drive for project and well-being of the people of Bayelsa state,’ the Speaker said.          .

Meanwhile, a former President of Christian Association of Nigeria AN),Bishop Mike Okonkwo has said that for the society to grow, both the church and government should act in unionism in fight societal norms.

Bishop Okonkwo who is also the General Overseer and Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), stated this in Government House, Yenagoa when he paid courtsy call on the Bayelsa State governor, Hon Seriake