Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has signed the 2020 Budget into law.
Ortom, while signing the N189.4billion appropriation bill earlier passed by the State’s House of Assembly, issued a stern warning to members of his cabinet on judicious use of financial resources made available to their various Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).
He warned them to be wary of the presence of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corruption Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), adding that his government will remain transparent and adhere strictly to due process without shielding any of his appointee who maybe found wanting.
“The EFCC and ICPC are government financial agencies and they are here. I will not be there to aid anyone to subvert justice. It is said that prevention is better than cure.
“If you do the right thing, I will stand for you and at the same time I will not instruct you to do wrong. So that at the end of our tenure, we can all go back and meet our families in peace and not be chased by EFCC,” he said.
The governor thanked the state legislators for achieving a landmark history of passing the budget early as he stressed his resolve to implement the budget to the latter.