Bayelsa Govt Accuses FG Of Withholding 13% Derivation Gotten From Oil/Gas Belonging N’D States

The Bayelsa State Government has called on the Federal Government’ to pay the state all the 13% derivations that supposed to come from Crude Oil, Condescent and other Oil and Gas explored from the state.

Speaking on Tuesday in Yenagoa during a transparency briefing for the months of November, December and January 2024, the honorable Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai decrying the rate of hardship in the country disclosed that Bayelsa State has vowed to get all the monies being owed the state especially from the Federal Government.

The commissioner said that recovering all these monies being owed the state will enable them implement the 2024 annual budget.

Ebibai who said that the briefing was the last one in the first tenure of Governor Douye Diri also encouraged citizens to pay their taxes.

Maintaining that the government will start shifting base from taxes by focusing particularly on Federal Government to enable the government embark on more people oriented projects.

He said” Our focus is on getting every single penny being owed the state and to make sure that all is recovered from the Federal Government.

“We need to recover our 13% derivations from condenscent sales, signature bonus, crude oil swap.

“Where is our money? As much as they are the custodian of the common wealth of everybody, it is their duty to engage all stakeholders in the sharing formular.

” But their is no engagement from the other parties to say this is our common wealth, to say this is what we have done with it or the portion of it or this is what is going to come. That engagement hasn’t taken place”.

“The federal government is mortgaging our common wealth. We are going to go after our money.

“The state is also feeling the huge impact of inflation in the society, currency fluctuations and other government policies especially at the Federal Government level.

“When the time gets tough, people must device a means to survive legitimately.

He said these are critical times where people are struggling to survive stating that there is going to be adjustments in some of the contracts due to thehigh cost of materials.

Speaking earlier, the state commissioner of Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ayibaina Duba, said government has kept faith by telling Bayelsans the income and expenditure of the state.

He said “As government, we have always been telling Bayelsans and indeed Nigerians the state of the Bayelsa finance and we kept our promise that we will not play politics with the development of the state and welfare of the citizens”.

Giving the breakdown of November, December 2023 and January 2024 account, Timipre Seipulo, the Technical Adviser to the governor on Treasury and Account, declared that out of over one hundred and forty billion naira that came in for the three months under review, the state government ha s a balance of N26.84 billion as surplus after all government expenditures and FAAC deductions.