Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has expressed concern over the decline in revenues from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) saying the state can no longer meet basic obligations.
Dickson said this while speaking at a lecture/dinner organized as part of the activities commemorating the 55th independence anniversary of the country and 19 years of the creation of Bayelsa State at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Yenagoa.
He said “The last report we got was that our allocation has dropped from N6.2 billion for last month, to about N5.6 billion for this month. This shows the challenges that our state is grappling with. But, we are not alone. Whereas, many states cannot even, meet their basic obligations, we in this state, are still carrying on. As a matter of fact, I have again instructed that salaries be paid as from Monday next week.
“But this is coming with a lot of cost and sacrifices. You can imagine what would have happened, if we didn’t experience this drastic and sudden drop in our revenue, Bayelsa would have been something else. But we are still not despondent. We are hopeful that with our a focused team on board and by the grace of God, revenues will improve and we will again work together to take our state to the next level.’’
Meanwhile Enugu State Governor, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has requested for N14.2 billion loan facility through the Central Bank of Nigeria to revive infrastructural development in the state.
The governor presented this request to the state House of Assembly, last week, for approval. The details showed that N10 billion is for infrastructural projects and N4.207 billion is for the payment of the arrears of pensions and salaries owed public servants.
The loans are part of the federal government effort to help states alleviate challenges faced due to the falling international oil prices.
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