The Bayelsa State Government has declared the sum of N2.8 billion as balance at hand for the month of July, 2015.
Governor Seriake Dickson, who made the declaration at the monthly transparency media briefing held over the weekend in Yenagoa, expressed concern over the dwindling fortunes of the state.
He lamented that revenue from the federation account has dropped drastically from N18 billion in 2012 to about N9 billion.
Dickson said that the state has fallen short of its contractual obligations following the declining prices of crude oil at the international market.
He observed that the price of oil may not rise above 40 dollars per barrel and appealed to the people of the state to show some understanding.
While presenting the income and expenditure of the state for the month of July, 2015, Dickson said the state received a gross inflow of N9.3 billion.
According to him, the amount comprises statutory allocation of N2.5 billion, derivation N5.9 billion, Value Added Tax N590.9 million.
He disclosed that exchange differentials to Bayelsa state stood at N179.9 million.
The governor further explained that total deductions at source came up to N1.5 billion, leaving a balance of about N7.8 billion in the coffers of the state.
He revealed that internally-generated revenue has improved from N60 million, when he assumed office in 2012 to about N628 million in the month of July 2015.
Dickson, who expressed his administration’s determination to embark on aggressive revenue drive for development purposes, said that taxation remains one of the major sources of revenue in developed economies.
On expenditure, the governor said that a whooping sum of N4.4 billion was expended on workers’ salaries, while renumeration for political appointees gulped the sum of N436 million.
According to him, monthly overhead stood at N540 million, while liabilities inherited from previous administrations was put at N2.1 billion.
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