Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has signed the 2021 appropriation bill of N456.2 billion into law.
Commissioner of finance, Linus Nkan, presented the budget, pointing out the amendments made by the executive. According to Nkan, the cumulative value of the budget is now N456.2 billion.
A statement signed by Ini Ememobong, the commissioner for information and strategy, said Udom gave his assent to the bill during the enlarged executive and security council meeting at the Government House, Uyo.
The signing of the appropriation bill was witnessed by the speaker and other principal officers of the state House of Assembly.
Speaking, Governor Udom noted the reports of insecurity in the state and announced the donation of 30 new utility vehicles to be distributed to the different services for use in combating crime.
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He said the vehicles were the first batch of the 100 vehicles targeted to be delivered to the security agencies for mobility, while also announcing the formation of a joint task force to combat crime.
The Commissioner of Police ( CP) in charge of the Akwa Ibom command, Andrew Amiengheme speaking on behalf of the service commanders, assured the citizens of maximum protection during the yuletide and beyond.
He urged citizens to call the police emergency numbers or the info hotline in the event of any incident, rather than resorting to social media.
There have been reports of rising cases of burglary and car snatching in the state with businesses being on edge over the security situation.
