Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri, has signed the state’s 2024 appropriation bill of N489, 443,632,374 into law.
Governor Diri appended his signature on the “Budget of Sustainable and Shared Prosperity” on Thursday in Government House, Yenagoa.
This figure represents an increase of N8.450 billion in the N480, 993,632,369 presented to the House of Assembly for consideration on November 29, 2023.
His chief press secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted Senator Diri as saying that the budget prioritises key sectors like education, infrastructure, healthcare delivery and agriculture.
He expressed optimism that a careful implementation of the budget would improve the living conditions of the people and address rural and urban poverty.
He said: “In order to realise our vision of sustainable and shared prosperity, we have carefully crafted this budget to prioritise key sectors aimed at improving our infrastructure, expanding access to mass education with emphasis on Technical, Science and Vocational Manpower Development, enhance healthcare services, and promote agriculture as a means of creating employment opportunities and reducing poverty.
“You recall that I presented a budget proposal of N480, 993,632,369 to the Assembly. But I observed an upward review to the tune of N489, 443,632,374, which gives us a difference of N8, 450,000,000 to provide more funding for the construction of an ultra-modern stadium, ultra-modern renal centre at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, the construction of an administrative block for the Primary Health Care Board and other critical overhead expenses.
“Having adopted the bottom-top approach in the preparation of this budget, specific rural community needs are being prioritized. It is our intention to ensure that the benefits of this budget are felt by all. We will work tirelessly to bridge the gap between the urban and rural areas in order to reduce the menace of urban poverty.”
Earlier, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Abraham Ingobere, stated that a slight upward review was made on the budget proposal of the governor to meet the present economic realities in the country.
