Cross River gov assents to amended electoral law
Governor Bassey Otu has granted assent to the amended Cross River Electoral Law passed by the State House of Assembly which stipulated a four-year tenure for elected Local Government officials. Signing the amended Law on Thursday in Calabar, the state Capital, Otu stated, “Let me thank Mr Speaker and members of the House of Assembly, and of course, our own Electoral Commission for making sure that we have an up-to-date act that is ready to put the third tier of government into office.” The amendment by the House of Assembly was necessitated by the Supreme Court’s verdict granting autonomy to the local government as well as ensuring that states of the federation ensure local administrations are headed by elected officials in accordance with the constitution. “Local government is very important. That is the government that is closer to the people than any other government that we have in the Federation. “I want to appreciate the fact that you have done a good job and I know that Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), as they are going, they are going to announce the date for the election and people will be ready; so that we will follow the rules of the game,” adding that, “We want this particular segment of our government to be active so that the dividends of democracy will trickle right down to the downtrodden and the people who need it most,” he added. The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem told newsmen that “what we have done today is in line with the Supreme Court judgment that was passed ab initio, and the Otu-led government being a proactive one, decided that the third tier government must come up almost immediately.” “For some time, we have not had the opportunity of having substantive chairmen in their right places of authority. And the governor thought it wise that we need to come up with the conduct of local government elections. “And the House of Assembly, in her wisdom, looked at the CROSIEC laws and realized that there were some grey areas that needed urgent attention. And those grey areas are the areas that have been largely attended to.” Ayambem said one of the most cardinal points tackled in the amended Law was the review of the tenure of the office of chairmen and councillors from three to four years on par with their elected officials at the state and federal levels. “As the Supreme Court judgment rightly had outlined the third tier government should enjoy the same status as that of the executive, the status of a governor and the status of a president where they have a tenure of four years in office and not three years at it were. So we looked at it in consonance with the Supreme Court judgment. “All that we have done is align strictly with what the Supreme Court has outlined. So we looked at it in consonance with the Supreme Court judgment all that we have done is align strictly with what the Supreme Court has outlined,” the Speaker added. Ayambem reiterated the state government’s stance on holding local government elections before the end of the year 2024.
Gov Otu Presents N250bn 2024 Budget For Cross River
Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River on Thursday presented a budget of N250 billion for 2024 to the state House of Assembly for approval. Presenting the budget titled: “The Peoples First Budget’’, Otu said that the figure was made up of N154billion capital expenditure and N96billion recurrent expenditure. He said that the budget was aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) goal 11, which focused on zero hunger, goal 111 which focused on good health and wellbeing and goal 1V which focused on quality education. “The 2023 budget of quantum infinitum which my administration inherited sought to transform as well as empower citizens through wealth creation and employment generation, improvement of educational standard, access to healthcare among others. “So, we intend to consolidate on the gains made by my predecessor as well as deliver quality service to our people. “For the 2024 fiscal year, the government is expecting N133 billion from the Federal Allocation Account (FAAC) while independent revenue is estimated at N35 billion,” he said. Otu said that the budget would priotise agriculture, education, healthcare delivery, environment, infrastructure, youth and sports development, security, tourism and general administration. The governor said as a newly elected governor, he would continue from where the previous administration stopped by continuing with some of priority projects while adding some innovative ones. “The 2023 budget of quantum infinitum which my administration inherited sought to transform as well as empower citizens through wealth creation and employment generation, improvement of educational standard, access to healthcare among others. “So, we intend to consolidate on the gains made by my predecessor as well as deliver quality service to our people. “For the 2024 fiscal year, the government is expecting N133 billion from the Federal Allocation Account (FAAC) while independent revenue is estimated at N35 billion,” he said.