By Our Correspondent
The Bayelsa State Government has disclosed that it recorded a deficit of N34.67 billion in April 2026 but ended May with a balance of N37.08 billion, following increased statutory allocations, internally generated revenue and other receipts.
The disclosure was made by the Technical Adviser on Treasury and Accounts, Timipre Seipulo, during the state’s Transparency Briefing for April and May 2026 in Yenagoa.
Speaking at the briefing, the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mrs. Ebiouwou Koku-Obiyai, reiterated the administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability, stating that citizens have a right to know how public resources are managed.
She said the government remained focused on delivering impactful projects across the state, including the Nembe-Brass Road, Ekelemo-Agge Road, the nine-storey secretariat complex and the Olympic-sized stadium at Igbogene.
According to Seipulo, Bayelsa received a gross Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) inflow of N42.33 billion in April. The major contributors were derivation revenue of N27.27 billion, statutory allocation of N7.48 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) of N6.33 billion and non-oil revenue of N1.24 billion.
After deductions of N899 million, the state realized a net FAAC inflow of N41.43 billion. Additional receipts from internally generated revenue (IGR), ecological funds and investment income brought total receipts for the month to N44.71 billion.
He explained that salary-related payments, including civil servants’ salaries, gratuities, pension arrears, political appointees’ allowances and grants to tertiary institutions, amounted to about N13 billion.
Other expenditures, including loan repayments and statutory deductions, brought total outflows before capital and recurrent spending to N21.53 billion.
Seipulo said recurrent expenditure stood at N6.17 billion, while capital expenditure reached N51.69 billion, covering major infrastructure projects such as road construction, the state assembly complex, the stadium project, the secretariat complex and acquisition of equity shares.
He noted that the state’s total expenditure for April amounted to N57.86 billion, resulting in a deficit of N34.67 billion, which was covered by the balance brought forward from March. Consequently, the state carried forward N22.15 billion into May.
For May, the state recorded a gross FAAC inflow of N52.81 billion, comprising N34.41 billion from derivation, N9.9 billion from VAT, N6.9 billion from statutory allocation and N1.6 billion from non-oil revenues.
After deductions of N891 million, the net FAAC inflow stood at N51.91 billion. Additional receipts from IGR, infrastructure-related funds and ecological funds increased total receipts to N63.86 billion.
The Technical Adviser disclosed that total salary-related expenditures in May amounted to N13.1 billion, while other statutory obligations and operational costs brought total outflows to N21.57 billion.
He added that recurrent expenditure for the month was N6.98 billion, while capital expenditure stood at N20.37 billion, bringing total recurrent and capital spending to N27.36 billion.
According to him, the state ended May with a surplus of N14.93 billion. Added to the N22.15 billion balance brought forward from April, Bayelsa closed the month with a balance of N37.08 billion, which was carried forward to June 2026.
Responding to questions from journalists on the state’s interest in the Atala Oil Field, Seipulo explained that Bayelsa’s equity participation in the oil asset does not translate directly into monthly government revenue.
He said returns would only accrue to the state through dividend payments declared by the operating company, assuring that any such income would be reported during future transparency briefings.
The briefing also featured discussions on ongoing infrastructure projects and the state government’s efforts to improve electricity supply through the Bayelsa Independent Power Project and gas turbine initiative.
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