The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel has signed the 2021 budget of N456.2 billion as passed by the State House of Assembly into law.
Emmanuel also reactivated the Joint Task Force following the recent insecurity in the state and distributed 30 new Utility Vehicles to the different security agencies for use in combating crime.
He said the vehicles are the first batch of the 100 vehicles planned to assist the mobility of security agencies in the state.
The Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Mr Ini Ememobong said in a release on Thursday in Uyo that the decisions were taken at a special enlarged Executive meeting comprising members of the State House of Assembly and later security chiefs held at the Government House.
“The Commissioner of Finance presented the budget as enacted by the Assembly and noted the amendments to the proposal sent from the executive. He intimated that the new cumulative value of the budget is now N456.2 billion.
“The Attorney General spoke to the legal regularity of the entire processes of the enactment of the bill and invited the Governor to grant assent to the bill.
“The Governor gave his assent and signed the bill into law, with the commencement date set at January 1, 2020. The signing was witnessed by the Speaker and other principal officers of the House.
The Governor noted the reports of insecurity in the state and informed that he will be chairing the security council meeting which will extensively deal with the issues at hand and proffer solutions.
“The Governor presided over the security council meeting attended by all service commanders in the state, where the current security situation in the state was analyzed and the decision to reactivate a Joint Task Force was reached.
“30 new Utility Vehicles were distributed to the different services for use in combating crime. These vehicles are the first batch of the 100 vehicles targeted to be delivered to the security agencies for mobility,” he stated.
Speaking on behalf of the security chiefs, the Commissioner of Police, Andrew Amiengheme, assured the citizens of maximum protection during the Yuletide period and beyond.
He encouraged citizens to call the police emergency numbers or hotlines in case of any incident, instead of resorting to the social media.
