By Chidi Nkwopara
OWERRI—Imo State House of Assembly has warned that any public or civil servant proven to be working at cross purposes with the policy objectives of the state administration will only have himself to blame.
The Speaker, Chief Goodluck Nanah Opiah, read the riot act before the presentation of the 2011 budget proposal to the lawmakers by Governor Ikedi Ohakim.

“One remarkable thing about election year budgets is that bureaucrats may be tempted to sabotage the implementation because of the uncertainty that pervades the political clime before every election.

“The House of Assembly will invoke the relevant sections of our laws to deal with such persons,” Opiah said.
The speaker also used the occasion to inform ministries, departments and agencies that were in the habit of proposing bogus budgets that the House would critically review the estimates.

“Let me make it clear that any ministry or parastatal that has performed poorly with this year’s budget should not expect any appropriation of fund for 2011,” he warned.

Noting that the House would ensure speedy passage of the budget proposal into law, Chief Opiah, however, reasoned that in doing so, they will ascertain the performance level of the 2010 budget.

Opiah said the responsibility of the House “is not just to approve budgets as an annual ritual, but our more important responsibility is to ensure that monies appropriated are spent judiciously in accordance with the budget.”