Umahi presents N188.4b appropriation bill for 2019 fiscal year:Assents to NHIS bill

Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi has presented an appropriation Bill of N188.4b for the 2019 fiscal year to the Ebonyi State House of Assembly and assented to the National Health Insurance Scheme Bill.

Presentating the budget of N188, 401, 913, 868, tagged "budget of Divine Fulfilment", Governor Umahi said the state executive Council has painstakingly went through the performance of the 2018 budget and expressed satisfaction with the level of performance and implementation.

Governor Umahi however disclosed that the 2018 budget witnessed a lot of bottlenecks ranging and affecting every sector of the state economy simultaneously citing global instability occasioned by persistent incidence of terrorism and other challenges.

The Governor said the state pursued the implementation of the 2018 budget with resilience and determination to ensure the attainment of ambitious target even in the face of scarcity of funds.

The 2019 budget has expenditure ratio between recurrent and capital expenditure of 22.1 percent to 77 percent with recurrent expenditure gulping N41.556b and capital of N49.068b

He said the 2019 budget which is lower than last year budget is expected to take care of recurrent expenditure and is expected to address all ongoing capital projects across the State.

Earlier in the State Executive Council before the presentation of the 2019 appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly, Governor Umahi assented to the National Health Insurance Scheme Bill to address health needs of the state civil servants.

Governor Umahi said the assent to the bill followed the passing of the bill by the State House of Assembly, adding that the law when fully implemented is expected to address all health needs of the Civil servants.

The Speaker of Ebonyi State House of, Mr Francis Nwifuru earlier in his address extolled the prudent management of all resources acruing to the State by Governor Umahi and maintained that it was the magic behind massive infrastructural development in the state.

He said the synergy between the executive and the legislature has provided the state enabling environment to excel above her contemporaries and had placed the state on a high pedestal of economic boom.

Nwifuru noted that despite the hard bite of economic challenges, Ebonyi State has remained on the rise through robust and healthy management of resources by the State governor and discouraging profligacy in goverenace.