The Committee on Finance and Appropriation of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has said it would commence an interface with all the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) in the state to ascertain the level of implementation of the 2023 budget.
Briefing Assembly Correspondents on Thursday, the Committee Chairman, Dr Itoro Etim, flanked by other committee members, said the knowledge of how the 2023 budget was implemented would enable the committee to consider the 2024 fiscal estimates presented by the governor on Tuesday.
The lawmaker also assured of thorough legislative scrutiny of the budget and seamless approval to fast-track the development of the state in line with the Arise Agenda of the government.
She, however, solicited the support and cooperation of Heads of MDA’s during the budget defence exercise and the oversight visits to project sites by lawmakers.
She said, “We would like to know how the previous budget fared, how it was implemented, and of course, we will submit our report to the House, and from there, the next stage will be the passage of the budget and it would thereafter be forwarded to the Executive for assent.”
Also, the Press Secretary to the Speaker, Elder Emmanuel Ebong who spoke on behalf of the Assembly Press Corps, assured of the readiness of the legislative Reporters to give effective media coverage on the activities of the lawmakers during the budget defence sessions.
He advocated regular media interface with the legislators to boost positive image projection.
Akwa Ibom finance, appropriation committee to interface with MDAs over 2024 budget
