Okowa Signed 2016 Budget, Says It Will Fast Track Infrastructural Development

Delta State governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa said the passage of the 2016 budget would give the state government enough rooms to utilize the dry season to fast track the infrastructural development plans of his administration.

Governor Okowa stated this Tuesday at the Executive Chamber of the new

Government House Asaba, while signing into law the 2016 budget which

he said government would utilize for maximum productivity.

He disclosed that government has appropriated N153 billion for

recurrent expenditure while N114 billion is for capital expenditure,

“we are going to work very strongly to generate the revenue to be able

to implement the budget in full”, expressing hope that with the

ongoing retreat by the Board of Internal Revenue, the state would

exceed and generate the very ambitious target of N75 billion as

against the N40 billion the board generated during the last

administration.
He said, “I believe it is achievable because we are going to block the

loopholes and ensure that many more will come into the tax net. I

believe that with what I saw yesterday the numbers of traditional

rulers and many other persons that came and showed their interest the

Board of Internal Revenue and the revenue generating ministries are

actually in the position to be able to generate this level of

funding”.
He noted that the Executive arm of government working in synergy with

the Delta State House of Assembly (DTHA), the state government would

deliver on its mandate, “it is my hope that as we start to implement

particularly the development projects, every commissioner will stay on

top of the implementation of the various programmes and projects in

their various ministries and that the oversight functions of the house

of assembly will also be a proactive one”.
Okowa noted that with the ongoing partnership between both arms,

Deltans would have value for their money just as he thanked the

Speaker, Rt. Hon. Monday Ovwigho Igbuya who was accompanied by

principal officers to the signing of the budget. “I hope that the

corporation that has led to an early passage of this appropriation law

will also be extended in all other legislation that we need to

undertake”.
The governor seized the opportunity to inform the Speaker that about

six Bills are likely to be sent to his (Speaker’s) office in the next

few days, urging him to work hard with other members of the House, “as

for Deltans, I want to plead with them to pay their taxes. The taxes

are not a punishment, we don’t use taxes to witch hurt people, taxes

are a civic duty and when any person pay his tax, he is just letting

the public know and Delta State to know that I belong to this state. I

am performing my civic duty and I am contributing my quota to the

development of Delta State”.
Okowa promised that the government would do its best to be accountable

and to ensure that monies collected from taxes are ploughed back to

the people through the state’s developmental and empowerment

programmes.