…Vows to monitor implementation

Asaba—THE leadership of the Labour Party, LP in Delta State, yesterday, faulted the jerking up of the state 2014 Appropriations Bill by N59 billion, vowing that any attempt to use the state’s money for election would be resisted.

Reacting to the passage of the budget by the state Assembly, Chairman of Labour Party,  Mr. Emeka Nkwoala, said “this is election year. They are preparing to use state funds to justify their being on ‘ground’ mantra.
“We as a political party together with our allies in the trade union movement, civil society groups, student unions and other progressives in the  state will ensure the implementation of the budget as passed.

“We call on the media as the watchdog of the society to join LP in monitoring the budget performance this year. Our leaders must henceforth, be held accountable for the actions or inaction while in office. The governor’s mantra of finishing strong should be judged in terms of completion of ongoing projects and not mere words,” he said.

However, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chike Ogeah, reacting said, “I need to see the details before I can pass a fair comment, but the most important thing here is that they have operated within the ambit of the law and being a very responsible House, I expect that if any adjustment was  made upwards or downwards, it must be in the overall interest of the people of Delta State.”

The state House of Assembly, on Wednesday passed the 2014 Appropriations Bill by increasing it with N59 billion from what Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan earlier presented, bringing the sum total passed to N450.7 billion.