Bayelsa State recorded a decline in its internally generated revenue (IGR) in February, according to figures announced by the state government at the Transparency Briefing for the months of January and February this year.
Timipre Seipulo, Special Adviser to the Governor on Treasury and Accounts, gave the IGR figures in Yenagoa on Friday while disclosing the income and expenditure profile of the state for the period.
Seipulo said the state recorded IGR of N1.45 billion in January, but it fell to N982 million in February, which is a decline of 32.3 percent.
It is understood that the high IGR figure for January could be as a result of huge payments by some large companies although details of the revenue payments were not available.
He said the state government made provision for the revenue collection amounting to N112 million and N76 million in January and February respectively making a total of N188 million.
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In other figures announced, total receipts for January stood at N25.49 billion and after deductions at source as well as capital payments and recurrent expenditure, the closing balance for the month was N7.36 billion.
However, in February, Bayelsa State recorded a deficit of N6.34 billion, which was made good by the balance brought forward from January leaving the state with a closing balance of N978 million.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ayibaina Duba, described the government as trustees of the wealth of the people hence “as a government we try to be as transparent as possible.”
Duba said the government was doing so much, which was taking a lot of the revenue accruing to the state and that no inherited project has stalled for any reason as “the government is religious in meeting its financial obligations.”
On the proposed Nembe – Brass Road, he reiterated that the process has started and that the government was ready for it and that the groundbreaking ceremony would take place anytime in the near future.”?
