The Bayelsa State House of Assembly on Thursday passed the State Audit Amendment Bill, 2021. The bill seeks to raise the retirement age of the Auditor General of the state and that of the local government from 56 to 60 years in service.

Leader of the House, Monday-Bubou Obolo, said the passage and subsequent signing of the bill would bring the law into compliance with international best practices.

Members of the House unanimously spoke in favour of the bill in their separate contributions during plenary at the Assembly Complex in Yenagoa.

The Speaker, Abraham Ingobere, commended the legislators for their high sense of duty, stressing that the amendment would improve the principal law considerably.

Meanwhile, the Chairman, House Committee on Works and Infrastructure, Bernard Kenebai, has lauded Governor Douye Diri for prudent use of funds appropriated by the Assembly for capital projects.

Kenebai gave the commendation when he led members of the committee on an oversight tour of ongoing projects across Bayelsa Central, East and West senatorial districts.

He said, “The template of the project’s inspection include management and utilisation of funds appropriated, the execution and supervision of projects, and the standard or integrity of jobs.”

He said that the committee was satisfied with what members saw at the project sites, adding that the legislature would continue to support the executive arm by appropriating funds.

Kenebai, however, urged the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure to undertake a deliberate media tour of the projects to keep the people informed about the government’s effort to better their lot.