The Bayelsa Government said on Monday it received N10.8 billion from the N570 billion grant from the Federal Governments to states.
NAN reports that President Bola Tinubu during a broadcast in response to the hunger protest, said the federal government released N570bn to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens.
Technical Adviser to Bayelsa Governor on Treasury, Timipre Seipolu, said the state got N10.8bn for May.
Giving a breakdown of the states income and expenditures for May, June and July, he explained that the N570 billion referenced by President Tinubu was part of the NG Cares funds for social interventions in collaboration with the World Bank.
“The NG Cares is a programme run by the states the Federal Government and the World Bank. The states are expected to make some expenditures.
“These expenditures include areas of agriculture through FADAMA and after some period, say quarterly, the expenditures are refunded. That is after the projects are independently verified.
“The support to SMEs and individuals like the vulnerable and elderly are dome in accordance to World Bank templates before refunds can be made and not complying with the template can lead to delays.
“So the N10.8 billion the state received for two months was money that the government through the NG Cares actually spent on projects in the state,” Seipolu said.
On the financial position of the state, Seipolu said that the available fund stands at N112.26 billion earmarked for ongoing infrastructure projects across the state.
Earlier, Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, restated the commitment of the government to the transparency laws which makes it mandatory to disclose the income and expenditure profile of the state.
She commended the media for objective reportage of the state. (NAN)
