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Dickson Proposes N150bn Appropriation Bill For 2016

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10 years ago

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Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson on Friday presented a N150 billion Appropriation Bill tagged Budget of Transition for the 2016 fiscal year, as against N250bn passed into law in 2015 to the State House of Assembly.
The recurrent expenditure as presented to the State House of Assembly for passage into law, stands at N43bn and capital expenditure, N25.4bn.
In his presentation, the governor said the budget would be committed to the completion of ongoing projects in the state.
The projected statutory allocation from the Federation Account, according to the governor, is put at N82.3 billion, capital receipts of N51.2 billion, independent revenue sources of N11 billion, which make up the expected total revenue.
The recurrent expenditure as presented by the governor, is having the highest allocation of N43 billion. This would enable the present administration to keep faith with the payment of workers salaries, regardless of the sharp drop in revenues occasioned by slide in crude oil prices.
Other expenditure items include, consolidated revenue fund charges N61.8 million, overhead of N20.2 billion, while capital expenditure was put at N25.4 billion.
Governor Dickson, who described the provision for capital expenditure for the current fiscal year as the least he has ever presented throughout his first term, however promised to review the allocation in the event of any positive change in the revenues accruing to the state.
In his sectoral breakdown, On sectoral allocations, the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure got the highest allocation of N5.2 billion, education N4 billion, Health N2 billion, Sports N1 billion, Community development N1.7 billion and Agriculture and natural resources N1.3 billion.
The Ministry of Tourism Development got N1.1 billion, Transport N1.1 billion, Housing and Urban Development N1.4 billion part of which the Governor said, would be utilized to build low income residential houses, in partnership with the private sector as land has already been acquired in different parts of the state for that purpose.
Assessing the performance of the 2015 budget of N250 billion comprising an anticipated statutory allocation of N182 billion, capital receipts of N48 billion, Value Added Tax N8.6 billion, Governor Dickson said, what the government received was a far cry from what was projected.
According to him, actual statutory allocation for the 9 months ending at September was N146.5 billion, which he noted was 47% lower than what was budgeted for, VAT N5.3 billion, independent revenue sources N6.2 billion while aids and grants amounted to N1.2 billion

 

Fyneface Aaron, Yenagoa

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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18 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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18 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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18 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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