Anambra State House of Assembly on Tuesday, held its last plenary session for the year 2023. The Assembly also proceeded on Christmas break after exhausting the business of the House, as contained in the order paper for Tuesday, December 21, 2023. Consequently, the House of Assembly will be resuming on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
Before the adjournment, the House of Assembly had passed the 2024 appropriation bill submitted by the governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, about two months ago and in a motion for the submission of the report of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Hon. Ejike Okechukwu, the Chairman, the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, asked for the leave of the House to submit the Committee’s report, which the Speaker, Rt, granted. Hon. Somto Udeze, after his motion was seconded by Hon. Noble Igwe, the member of the House representing Ogbaru 1 constituency. This was quickly followed by a resolution of the Assembly into the Committee of the Whole, following a motion moved by the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Ikenna Ofodeme.
In the report of the Committee, the House passed the sum of N410.1 billion, which is the same amount in total sum, as submitted by the governor during the budget presentation. Of this amount, N96.2 billion is earmarked for recurrent expenditure, while about N313.9 billion is for capital expenditure for the year 2024. However, the budget still has a deficit of over N100 billion, expected to be funded from other sources.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation in his remarks thanked the members of the Assembly for the work and tireless efforts put into the budget process, the staff of the House, and other stakeholders in the budget process, upon reversing the House to plenary after considering the report of the Appropriation Committee, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Somto Udeze, called for the budget to be read for the third and final time and it was read by the Clerk, Mr. Okey Nwobi, after which the budget was passed.
Also, a bill for a law to establish private colleges and midwifery schools in Anambra State, sponsored by Hon. Ikenna Ofodeme, was read for the second time and recommended to the Committees on Education and Health. Similarly, a bill for the establishment of the Anambra State Energy Agency, as well as the Anambra State factory workers safety bill, both of which are sponsored by Hon. Golden Ebuka Ilo, the House member representing Ihiala 2 constituency, were read for the first time.
The Speaker, just before adjournment, thanked the House members, staff of the Assembly, and the media, among others, for a robust six months of legislative engagements.
Ebuka graduated with a second-class upper-division degree in Political Science from the University of Calabar in Nigeria. He furthered his education by obtaining a Master's Degree in Political Science with a specialization in Government and Development Studies from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Nigeria. His academic background and professional experience have equipped him with a deep understanding of political dynamics and governance issues.
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