Governor Diri Pledges to reintroduce salary payment through Oracle .Presents N242.283 Budget estimates to Bayelsa Assembly

 By Inegbagha Majesty

In a bid to meet up the development challenges of the state, the Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri has on Tuesday presented an appropriation bill of N242.283 billion for the 2020 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly twenty three days to his first one hundred days in office.

Senator Douye Diri,  Governor of Bayelsa state

The Governor who was enthusiastic to present the budget estimate to the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere and members, also unfolded that   his administration has started the payment of gratuities to retirees in the state, adding that  to steer clear of fraud and delayed payment of salaries to civil servants, the use of Oracle shall be reintroduced.
The Bill which he christened “Budget of Consolidation for Prosperity” allotted N51.646 billion for personnel cost, N52.327 billion for Overhead, N91.478 billion for Consolidated Revenue Fund charges, with N46.736 billion for capital expenditure.
According to the Governor the appropriation bill defines the structure for the economic activities to be undertaken in the fiscal year.
A breakdown of the budget indicates that, the Works and Transport had the highest share of N8.6 billion, followed by the Agricultural sector with N8 billion.
Also, Education was allocated N2.1 billion, Health got N1.75 billion, Power and Water got N800 million, while Sports and Trade, Industry and Investment got N580 and N430.938 million, in that order.

The Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri representing to the  Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere on Tuesday an appropriation bill of N242.283 billion for the 2020 fiscal year.

The Governor emphasized that the policy thrust of his administration in the next four years remains consolidating on the gains already made by the previous government.
He said his administration would embark on special programmes and projects aimed at wealth creation.
Accordingly, he said his administration would encourage the people to participate in agriculture, small and medium scale enterprises and create opportunities toward attracting the private sector for industrialization.
Senator Diri equally highlighted other programmes to include infrastructure development, housing and urban renewal, human capital development and public sector and financial management reforms.
On the current economic outlook, the governor said as a result of the ravaging effect of COVID-19 on the global economy, there was need for prudent management of resources.
He said the price of crude oil had drop drastically as against the Federal Government's benchmark pegged at $55 per barrel thus affecting revenue from statutory allocations from the Federation Account.

As part of efforts to reduce the cost of governance and enhance transparency, Senator Diri maintained that the human resources, financial reporting, budgeting and procurement component of the State's Integrated Financial Management Information System (SIFMIS) would be fully implemented this year.
The Governor, assured that his administration would continue with the implementation of the Federal Government approved minimum wage for workers.
Responding, the  Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere, applauded Governor Diri and his team for the steps taken by his administration to prevent the spread of COVID-19 into the state.
He stressed the need for the state government to adopt more strategies to raise funds from alternative sources and seek ways to cushion the effects occasioned by the virus, and assured that the Assembly would expedite passage of the appropriation bill.