The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has on Wednesday passed the Akwa Ibom Youth Development Fund Bill into law.
The Assembly also ratified the Auditor General Report on the state Audited Account for 2017.
Speaking after passing the bill into law, the Speaker of the House, Barr Onofiok Luke said “the bill proposes the establishment of the Akwa Ibom Youth Development Fund which ultimate aim is to create jobs and evolve greater opportunities for our teeming youths.”
The Youth Development Bill it was gathered was proposed by youth groups including the Youth Alive Foundation, and has Hon. Emmanuel Ekpenyong as lead-sponsor, sought the implementation of a sustainable youth policy framework in the state.
Luke however commended the Youth Alive Foundation and other youth organizations for proposing the bill and urged Akwa Ibom people to take similar advantage of the legislature to propose laws that could positively affect the generality of the people.
Also, the ratification of the audited account for the state followed the submission of the statement of account of the state for the 2017 fiscal year by the state Accountant General through the Public Account Committee.
This is in line with the provisions of Section 125 (5) (6) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Speaker noted in his remarks that having considered the expenditures of government as captured in the report, the house has put a legislative seal on the state audited account for 2017.
He noted that by the approval, the assembly has “expressed the satisfaction of our various constituents with the fiscal health of this administration.”
He said that the House would be looking forward to auditing the state account for 2018 before the expiration of the assembly in June, 2019.
