By Eunice Nnachi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Government on Tuesday, said it has spent over N75 billion on capital projects from November 2022 to January 2023.
Technical Adviser on Treasury and Accounts, Timipre Seipulo, reeled out the figures at the monthly Transparency Briefing in Yenagoa, the income and expenditure profile of the state for the three months.
Seipulo said Governor Douye Diri’s Prosperity Government spent N24 billion, N25 billion and N26 billion on capital projects in November 2022, December 2022 and January 2023 respectively.
He disclosed that the money was spent on the ongoing Yenagoa – Oporoma road, completion of the second phase of the Glory Drive among others.
The government has completed the Sagbama – Ekeremor road, is striving to complete the Eastern Ring Road and just started a new road from Toru-Orua to Yenagoa.
Nigerianpilot, gathered that the new road is expected to link communities such as Bulou-Orua, Okumbiri, Amatolo and Toru-Ebeni among others.
Seipulo also disclosed that donations for flood relief have continued to pour into the state coffees with N395 million in November and one million in December and N85 in January this year.
He said the state government has continued to meet its other financial obligations such as payment of salaries to civil servants and appointees, pension and gratuities to retirees as well as grants to state owned tertiary institutions.
Inflows from internally generated revenue (IGR) have remained low with the bulk of the revenues accruing to the state coming from the 13 percent derivation.
The figure of N17.77 billion posted as closing balance for January shows that Bayelsa State may not be the poverty capital of Nigeria as is being touted in certain quarters.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Ministry of Information and Orientation, Hon Ayiba Duba said, “the prosperity government is out to do what we are elected to do which we have been doing in the last three years a d we will continue to do so.
“All the projects we have embarked upon none gas stopped, and are still on going and we will take them to logical conclusion.
“We will finish them and new ones are in the stages of planning process and when we have concluded the planning process and contracts awarded we will let the public know.”
