Bayelsa Govt Restates Commitment to Public Service Reforms

Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah retd, (left) addressing members of the Press during the February/March 2018 edition of the monthly Transparency Initiative Press Briefing at Government House, Yenagoa, while the State Commissioner of Finance, Mr. Maxwell Ebibai (2ndright) and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Treasury, Accounts and Revenue, Mr.Timipre Seipulo (right) looks on. 

...Posts N1.3bn IGR For February

Bayelsa Government says, it would pursue its ongoing public service re-organisation process to a logical conclusion before the termination of the present administration for the overall interest of the state.

The State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (Retd) made the declaration on Friday, during the monthly transparency briefing on the state’s income and expenditure for the months of February and March, 2018 in Government House, Yenagoa.

A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Francis Ottah-Agbo quoted the deputy governor as saying that, the government had already made several startling discoveries, through biometrics and other measures adopted in the fight against fraudulent practices in the state public service.

According to Rear Admiral John Jonah, the government would meticulously adhere to extant public service regulations in dealing with issues bordering on falsification of age, certificates and redundancy to create opportunities for qualified Bayelsans, as well as enhance infrastructural development.

While assuring those who would be affected by the process of justice, the deputy Governor sued for their understanding and cooperation to enable government succeed in building a virile public service.

His words, "It is a plague that has been with us for a very long time. We need time to educate our people and gradually move to the point that we want to be. Several committees have been set up for the tertiary institutions, main civil service, parastatals, local government councils and rural development authorities.

"It's still work in progress. But, the government plan is that, if you did not get engaged in the proper way, you have no business being in the service. If you fraudulently obtained a certificate and joined the system, you have no business being in the service. If you continue to get younger as the years are going...government will no longer be able to accommodate you.

"The Government has made several plans to be able to handle the issue properly. So the idea of thinking that people would just be thrown out to the streets is absolute misinformation. That's not the plan of government. But we must accept that the present burden of over bloated workforce is not sustainable."

Giving a breakdown of the financial position of the state as at the end of February, Rear Admiral John Jonah announced a gross inflow of N15 billion, comprising a statutory allocation of N2.9billion, derivation N10billion and a value added tax (VAT) of N869million.

He, however, explained that, the total FAAC deductions of N1.6billion left the state with a net inflow of N13billion, while the internally generated revenue (IGR) for January stood at N1.7billion.

On outflows, the deputy governor noted that, the government spent a total of N5.9billion on items such as civil servant and political appointees’ salaries N3.27billion, grant to state-owned tertiary institutions-N630million and 10% contribution to primary school teachers' salaries.

For the month of March, he announced N15.3billion as gross inflow, N1.6billion as total FAAC deductions, a net inflow of N13.7billion, while IGR for February was put at N1.1billion.

Rear Admiral John Jonah, who noted that, N7.5billion stood as balance of funds available as at the end of March, said the government paid N3.6 billion on recurrent, while capital payments gulped N6.2billion.