Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has given his assent to 13 out of the 17 bills so far passed by the state’s Sixth Assembly.

The Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Monday Ovwigho Igbuya, disclosed this on Tuesday in Asaba while reviewing the activities of the Sixth Assembly.

Speaking at the resumption of plenary, Igbuya said the Sixth Assembly received a total of 41 bills.

He named the assented bills to include Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission Law, 2015; Delta State Contributory Health Commission Bill, 2015;

Appropriation Law 2016; Delta State Economic Planning Council (Amendment) Law, 2015; Delta State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy Law, 2016; Delta State Security Trust Fund (Amendment) Law 2016; and Delta State Anti-Kidnapping Hostage Taking Law, 2016.

Others are Delta State Anti-Terrorism and Anti-Cultism Law, 2016; Delta State Scholarship Board Law, 2016; Delta State Structure for Signage and Advertisement Agency Law, 2015’ Delta State Public Procurement Commission Agency Law, 2015; Delta State Traditional Rulers and Chiefs (Amendment) Law, 2016; and Delta State Schools of Nursing and Midwifery Law, 2016.

Speaker Igbuya commended his colleagues for the stability of the House, their well thought out input and service to the state.

“The task of building a prosperous Delta State rests on the identification and understanding of the challenges in the state with a view to transforming them. The cooperation between the three arms of government must be pursued and maintained in this regard,” the Speaker said.

“There are a number of bills which were deferred last year. Let us consider the2017 Appropriation Bill and other bills before this House. Let us continue to support the executive in its efforts at improving the revenue base of the state. Let us continue to employ our oversight instruments to ensure judicious use of public funds, accountability, probity and transparency,” he added.

In another development, Speaker Igbuya has described the death of Senator Francis Spanner Okpozo as a monumental loss to Nigeria.

“I have learned with great sadness of the death of Third Republic Senator, Chief Francis Spanner Okpozo,” he said in Asaba.

The Speaker in a statement issued on Wednesday said the late senator was a great man and an amazing leader.

“Nigeria has lost a patriot. Senator Francis Okpozo was more than an illustrious son of Isoko land. He was a politician among politicians. He will be greatly missed,” the statement said.

Senator Okpozo, widely regarded as one of the most articulate and ebullient politicians to have emerged from Isoko land, was a member of the Third Republic Senate. He represented Delta South Senatorial District on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was deputy speaker of the defunct Bendel State House of Assembly under the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

According to Igbuya, Senator Okpozo, who will be buried on Friday, February 17, 2017 in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area, “was an outstanding politician and a lawmaker per excellence.”

Update news