Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; signing the 2013 Appropriation Bill into Law while the Special Adviser to the Governor on Legislative Affairs, Mr. Dapo Karounwi (1st left); Clerk, Ekiti State House of Assembly (ESHA), Mr. Tunde Famoyegun (2nd left); Deputy Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Dele Falusi; Speaker, ESHA, Dr. Adewale Omirin; and Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji (Dr) Ganiyu Owolabi, during the ceremony, in Ado-Ekiti... on Monday.
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi on Monday, signed the 2013 Appropriation bill of N 97.6 Billion and nine other bills into law.
The nine bills include law to provide for the grant of Pension to former Governors and their Deputies and other auxiliary matters, Ekiti State Peace Corps law 2012, Prohibition of Smoking in Public places Law 2012, Ekiti State Lotteries law 2012 and House of Assembly Commission Loans Board 2012.
Others are Ekiti State Board of Internal Revenue law 2013, Ekiti State Advisory on Prerogative of Mercy Law, Local Government Service Commission(amendment) law, and Local Government Administration(amendment) law.
Appending his signature to the bills, Governor Fayemi said that the focus of the 2013 budget is to consolidate on all on-going projects across the State through people empowerment.
Dr. Fayemi said this informed of the proposal to create the Ministry of Rural Development and Empowerment as a means to ensuring that all of government’s projects are effectively delivered to the grassroots.
While noting that this was the first time the state’s budget would be passed before the new year, the Governor said the 2013 appropriation was tailored in line with the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) which covers all sectors of the State economy.
He however assured that the budget would be “carefully and faithfully implemented”.
On the other laws, Fayemi said the establishment of Peace Corps was to consolidate the existing relative peace in the state, as members of the Corps know the local terrain more than other security agencies. He assured that corps members they would collaborate with other security agencies in the state to ensure peace continues to reign in the state.
He stated that the Board of Internal Revenue law was to reduce the State’s dependence on federal allocation and achieve the vision of his administration on revenue generation.
Governor Fayemi stated that all the laws are to create an environment for people-oriented and predictive government.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin commended the. Fayemi-led administration for delivering dividends of democracy to the people in line with the 2012 budget.
The Speaker added the early passage of the budget is not unconnected to the fact that the proposal has provisions and capacity to build on the achievement recorded in 2012 by the administration.
It would be recalled that the Governor had on December 6, presented a budget proposal of N93.6 Billion to the Assembly but was jerked up to N97.6 Billion. The House of Assembly passed the budget on December 28th, paving the way for yesterday’s signing into law.
The event was witnessed by top government functionaries, traditional rulers, as well as representatives from the private sector.
Last modified: December 31, 2012
