Bayelsa rakes in N7.9bn to settle 2016 salary arrears

THE Bayelsa Government says it has spent about N7.9 billion from the N24.1 billion of the Paris Club refunds accrued to the state in October 2018.

The state said the amount was used to settle the backlog of 2016 salary arrears of workers in the state.

The Bayelsa Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gborigbogha John-Jonah, (rtd) disclosed this during the monthly ‘transparency’ briefing for the government expenditures in the month of October 2018.

He said the salary arrears settled was for the months of March, June and July 2016, which the state could not pay due to the recession that ravaged the country.

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The deputy governor said that the total balance of funds available to the state as at October 30, 2018, stood at N18.5 billion from the federal allocation.

He explained that the amount consisted of funds brought forward from September and N1 billion balance of funds at the end of October.

According to him, gross inflow from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for the month stood at N14 billion, comprising 13 per cent derivation of N10.7 billion, statutory allocation N3 billion and Value Added Tax of N1 billion.

He said that the total FAAC deductions gulped N1.6 billion, including restructured commercial bank loans (N741 million); bond obligation (N421 million), restructured refund of the overpayment (N128 million) and Excess Crude Account facility of N170.7 million.

He said: “Civil servants in Bayelsa have been paid half salaries owed them in March and June 2016, and the full month salary owed in the same year, due to the recession, and the remaining one month will be paid when the final tranche of the Paris refund comes.

“The total outflows stood at N1.9 billion consisting of contractual guarantees of N2.8 billion, civil servants’ salaries of N2.7 billion and that of political appointees stood at N472 million.

“Other components of the outflows include; salary grants to tertiary institutions amounting to N630 million while 10 per cent contribution to payment of primary school teachers was N45 million,” he said.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the government briefs the people on its expenditure to show transparency and accountability policy.