The Cross River State Bureau of Statistics Amendment Bill 201 has been passed into law after third reading at plenary of the Cross River State House of Assembly.
The speaker, Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo, said the amendment of the bill would allow for expansion of the scope of the bureau and benefits to stakeholders.
The sponsor of the bill, Hon. Hilary Ekpang Bisong, member representing Boki II State Constituency in the Cross River state House of Assembly, described the Cross River state Bureau of Statistics Amendment Bill 2016 as the right step for proper planning of the social needs of the people.
Bisong who reiterated this to newsmen after the passage of the bill in Calabar, explained that the principal bill which was first passed in 2011 and now amended, was necessitated by the expansion of social services in the state that were not in existence at the time of its enactment.
The lawmaker said it was worthy to note that the Cross River state Bureau of Statistics was not a duplication of function of the already existing Bureau of Statistics, maintaining that the primary aim of the bill is to help the government have adequate data to aid the provision of social services to the people.
He added that the amendment does not repel any part of the Principal Law rather; the amendment is to extend section 11 of the Principal Law and add additional functions to the bureau.
The Deputy Whip of the House, Rt. Hon. Ogana Lukpata commended the sponsor of the bill and said the amendment of the bill will give a statistical structure of the indigenes and non indigenes of the State and will help the Government to know the numerical strength of Cross River State.
Other members who spoke called for the amendment of all areas that are lacking in the bill to make it effective for security, future predictions of the State which will help predict the future events and proper planning for Government.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. John-Gaul Lebo directed the Clerk of the house to forward a clean copy to the law to the State Governor, Senator Prof. Ben Ayade for his accent.
