Bayelsa State government has explained why it deducted N32.6 million from the allocations to the eight local government councils at its Transparency Briefing on the income and expenditure for January, in Government House, Yenagoa yesterday.
The deputy governor, John Gboribiogha Jonah, told newsmen that the amount was deducted as part of an agreement with the local government councils on the N1.3 billion bailout funds from the Federal Government in 2015.
Jonah disclosed that the Federal Government had been deducting the money from the allocation to the state, which guaranteed the bailout to the local government councils and the state government only began to recover the money from the councils.
On the January allocation to the state, the deputy governor declared a net inflow of N7.8 billion with a balance of N6.9 billion after recurrent and capital expenditure in line with Governor Henry Seriake Dickson’s policy of probity, accountability and transparency.
There was remarkable improvement in the internally generated revenue collection which stood at N863.3 million while first line deductions stood at N1.4 billion as a result of the renegotiation of the repayment of the bond which is now N421 million.
The breakdown of the January allocation includes statutory allocation of N1.25 billion, derivation fund, N3.154billion; Value Added Tax, N689.4 million; Petroleum Products Tax Fund, N1.5 billion; budget support, N1.1 billion; refund from other states, N57.3 million and exchange differential, N1.4 billion.
The first line deductions include bond deduction, N421. 55 million; foreign loans to states, N29.77 million; commercial agricultural loan scheme 2, N66,67 million, bailout to states, N11.28 million and excess crude account loan facility to states, N126.68 million.
Jonah stated that apart from the payment of salaries to civil servants and political appointees, which stood at N3.66 billion and N256.32 million respectively, the state also made capital expenditure of N10.23 billion for a number of projects.
Briefing newsmen shortly after the presentation, the state Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Jonathan Obuebite pointed that the N32.6 million deductions from the local government councils in respect of the bailout fund was for two months.
Obuebite said the local government administrations entered into an agreement with the state government that the amount would be deducted from the local government allocations.
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