*Infrastructure Gets N298bn, Education N75bn, Pipe-borne Water N10bn
From Kenechukwu Obiajuru, Yenagoa
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, on Thursday, presented the state’s 2026 appropriation bill of N998,371,313,943.04 to the House of Assembly.
Governor Diri said the proposal tagged: “Budget of Assured Prosperity II” would be funded through various projected revenue sources, including statutory allocation N42.2bn,
Value Added Tax N84bn, 13% derivation N212.6bn and other FAAC allocations N488bn.
Other projected receipts are internally generated revenue of N85.9bn, internal and external grants amounting to N24.9bn while domestic loans would be N50bn.
Capital expenditure is expected to gulp N645.2, which is 64.6% of the total budget while recurrent expenditure is projected at N353.1bn (35.4%)
As in previous years, the Works and Infrastructure Ministry got the lion’s share of N298.6bn, which underscored the administration’s commitment to completing and expanding of the road network in the state as well as other projects like the nine-storey civil servants secretariat.
The Education Ministry was allotted N75.1bn while Sports got N46.5bn and Health N39.7bn.
Significantly, the government allocated the sum of N10.8bn for the provision of pipe-borne water, following Governor Diri’s earlier pledge to address the water challenge in the state in 2026.
Some other areas listed by the governor included power generation and supply N16.5bn, security N21.5bn and agriculture N15.6bn among other sectors.
Governor Diri commended the legislature for its cooperation with the executive, noting that they were elected to better the lives of people of the state.
“Mr Speaker, Bayelsans elected us to take bold actions to improve their quality of life. That is what we are doing and will continue to do. I trust that when history reviews our actions and this budget, our choices will be seen as the right ones.
“In the 2026 fiscal year, we will continue with all ongoing projects like the three senatorial roads, Glory Drive Phase 3 that will link Imgbi Road with a bridge crossing the Epie Creek, the Ogu-Akaba-Okodi Road, Sabagreia–Polaku Road, Toru–Orua– Bolu–Orua–Kabeama–Ebeni Road, internal roads, the ultra-modern state secretariat, among others,” the governor stated.
The Bayelsa helmsman appealed to the Speaker and members of the assembly to give the appropriation bill careful consideration and expeditious passage.
In his opening remarks, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere, lauded the governor’s commitment to developing road infrastructure, education, sports, healthcare, the power sector and other key areas, which he noted had tremendously transformed the state.
He said: “From my assessment, the total overhaul of the education sector, infrastructure development, recruitment, training and retraining of teachers, establishment of technical and vocational schools in all the local government areas are yielding huge dividends and demonstrate the government’s dedication to middle level manpower development.”
Ingobere assured that the assembly would prioritise the appropriation bill and ensure that it is passed in good time.
