By ANAYO OKOLI

UMUAHIA—ABIA State House of Assembly has passed the 2013 budget of N137. 2 billion for the state.  The approved budget was N3 billion higher than the N134. 1 billion proposed by Governor Theodore Orji.

Announcing the passage, Speaker of the House, Chief Ude Oko Chukwu, said the approval was given after consideration of the report of the House Committee on Appropriation during plenary.

Oko Chukwu commended the state lawmakers for working relentlessly to ensure the quick passage of the appropriation bill.

A breakdown of the budget outlay approved by the House showed that N68.4 billion is for recurrent expenditure, while the capital expenditure is N68.8 billion.

N20 billion was set aside for road and bridge constructions; N7.1 billion was ear-marked for the housing sector; N2.5 billion was allocated to the education sector, while energy and power got N1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the House has also cleared the seventeen local government transition committee chairmen nominees and their deputies and enjoined the governor to swear them in as soon as possible.