Diri Presents N242.187bn 2020 Appropriation Bill

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, yesterday presented the state’s 2020 budget estimate to the state Assembly.
Presenting the appropriation bill christened Budget of Consolidation for Prosperity,the Governor stated that N51.646 billion is earmarked for personnel cost while N52.327 billion is budgeted for overhead.
Diri said N91.478 billion is for consolidated revenue funds charges just as N46.75 billion is appropriated for capital expenditures.
Further breakdown of the budget proposal shows that the Ministry of Works and Transport has the highest figure of N8.6 billion while Agriculture received N 8 billion respectively.
Education got N 2.1b,Health received N 1.75b while power and Water Resources had N800 million each.
Others are: Housing and Urban Development, N640 million; Sports N580 million while the Ministry of Trade,Industry and Investment was allocated N430.938 million.
Speaking on his plan for the year, Governor Diri restated his desire to work proactively in cushioning the economic hardship in the state through deliberate engagement with the federal government, the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as multinational establishments such as the World Bank and others.
The governor assured Bayelsans that his administration would sensitise, as well as mobilise the people of the state to participate in Small and Medium scale Enterprises, SMEs, just as he pledged to give agriculture a boost.
He emphasised that to actualise his aspiration as contained in the budget,he intends to create special programmes and projects targeted at wealth creation, re-assuring that the existing health facilities in the state would be upgraded to be able to contain emergencies at all times,saying the state would sustain the efforts so far taken to prevent and control Covid-19 which he said the state still remains free from.