Days Of Imperial Governorship Gone With Okorocha – Ihedioha

Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State has presented a N197 billion budget for the year 2020 to the Imo State House of Assembly pledging that the days of imperial governorship were gone with his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha.

The 2020 budget of the state government themed “Rebuild Imo Budget One” to the Imo State House of Assembly.

In his presentation at the Assembly Chambers Wednesday,  Governor Ihedioha presented to the House a total proposed  budget of N197,607,272,328, with recurrent expenditure at N91,377,822,129, which is 46.2 percent of the budget, while Capital expenditure stood at N106,229,450,200, which is 53.8 percent of the budget.

He said, “In summary, the Recurrent Expenditure is N91, 377,822,129. However, this figure includes the repayment to FGN on debts including bail out funds and rescheduled service of bonds.

“Our capital expenditure is N106, 229, 450,200 which represents 53.8 percent of the proposed budget. This is a welcomed development in an era where many other administrations have well below 40 percent in capital expenditure. It goes without saying that capital expenditure drives development and growth.

Governor Ihedioha recalled the state of Imo before he was sworn in as Governor and how far his administration has gone in actualizing the Rebuild Imo Agenda.

He said “The State of colossal ruins this government met upon the inception of our administration is no longer news. It was an all round devastation spanning every facet of infrastructure, public utilities, health, education, industry and the public service to mention but a few.

“Imo State was like a pariah state avoided by investors, ignored by International donor agencies and denigrated by national agencies.

He noted that “Last year, the State was among few States in Nigeria that could not qualify to receive 18m dollars World Bank grants due to absence of transparency and accountability in governance.

“Reports upon reports lamented the unwillingness of the then Government to work with constitutionally approved structures of governance, its lack of due process and resort to ad hoc and episodic approaches to governance. This came along with a huge loss in investor confidence and absence of international development assistance.

He said on assumption of office, he pledged to rebuild the State and restore its glory.

“Mr. Speaker, I am glad to report that we have not wavered on that pledge”.

“Furthermore, we have set up a structure for transparency and accountability in the governance process. On this score, I signed the Executive Order 005, known as Treasury Single Account (TSA) Order. The essence is to consolidate all government revenues under one account. Similarly, we have signed to implement the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). These measures are designed to plug leakages and increase Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in the State coffers.

In his address, Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Chiji Collins, while welcoming the governor, noted that this is his first budget proposal after assuming office.

He reassured of the commitment of his colleagues, irrespective of political party affiliations, adding that, “the indelible achievements Governor has recorded since assumption of office is worthy of commendation, despite inheriting a state in ruins with humongous infrastructural and institutional decay”.

The governor was accompanied by his deputy, Gerald Irona as well members of the expanded executive council.

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