THE Bayelsa State House of Assembly has passed into law the State Bonds, Notes and other Security Issuance Bill 2009 which permits the state government to secure the N100 billion Bond with the first tranche to be issued to the tune of N50 billion needed for some projects in the state.
Chief Asara A. Asara, commissioner for information, orientation and strategy, who revealed the conditions that will guide the present administration in allocating funds from the bond, said the action of the state government is devoid of criminal intent as claimed by the opposition in the state.
The House of Assembly last week, while passing the bill, considered the report of the House Joint Committees on Appropriation, Finance & Economic Planning and Public Accounts.
Werinipre Seiubarogu, speaker of the House, however directed the Clerk of the House to read the bill for the third time and it was subsequently passed into law. With its passage, House members have paved the way for the state government to obtain the controversial N50 billion bond which had pitched Governor Timipre Sylva and opposition politicians at logger head in the last few weeks.
The House members had, while considering the bill on the floor of the House, said their support was based on the poor state of infrastructure, low level of development and lack of funds to tackle developmental projects in the state. They branded critics and oppositions to Governor Sylva’s quest for the bond, as “enemies of development.”