Umuahia — Abia State House of Assembly has passed the 2010 Appropriation Bill of N65.7 billion into law. It was N5 billion more than the N65 billion proposed by Governor Theodore Orji.

The House said the budget was increased because of the inclusion of excess crude earning, which the executive did not include when it presented the budget. The House also reduced the recurrent expenditure from N40 billion to N35 billion.

Presenting its report on the appropriation, the Committee headed by Chief Mathew Ibeh, noted that if the promises made by the Governor in his proposal were kept, the economy of the state will be revamped.

The House therefore, advised Ministries and agencies to adhere strictly to the provisions of the 2010 budget.

The House also called on the Commissioner for Finance to "promptly release funds for projects as approved by the Governor, as this will lay a solid foundation for development of the state ."