…Infrastructure gets N298bn, education N75bn, pipe-borne water N10bn
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has presented a ₦998.37 billion budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly, with a strong focus on infrastructure, education, and water supply.
Tagged “Budget of Assured Prosperity II,” the proposal earmarks ₦645.2 billion (64.6%) for capital expenditure and ₦353.1 billion (35.4%) for recurrent expenditure.
Presenting the appropriation bill before lawmakers in Yenagoa on Thursday, Governor Diri said the budget would be funded through multiple revenue streams, including statutory allocation (₦42.2bn), VAT (₦84bn), 13% derivation (₦212.6bn), and other FAAC inflows amounting to ₦488bn.
Additional funding sources include internally generated revenue (₦85.9bn), grants (₦24.9bn), and domestic loans (₦50bn).
As in previous years, the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure received the largest allocation — ₦298.6 billion — underscoring the government’s commitment to completing ongoing road projects and expanding the state’s road network, including the nine-storey civil servants’ secretariat.
The education sector was allotted ₦75.1 billion, sports received ₦46.5 billion, while health got ₦39.7 billion. A new highlight of the 2026 proposal is the ₦10.8 billion provision for pipe-borne water, reflecting Diri’s earlier pledge to tackle the state’s water challenge.
Other key allocations include power generation and supply (₦16.5bn), security (₦21.5bn), and agriculture (₦15.6bn).
Governor Diri expressed gratitude to the Assembly for its consistent cooperation with the executive arm, assuring that his administration would remain focused on improving the lives of Bayelsans.
“Bayelsans elected us to take bold actions to improve their quality of life. That is what we are doing and will continue to do. I trust that when history reviews our actions and this budget, our choices will be seen as the right ones,” he said.
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The governor listed ongoing priority projects to continue in 2026, including the three senatorial roads, Glory Drive Phase III, Ogu–Akaba–Okodi Road, Sabagreia–Polaku Road, and Toru–Orua–Bolu–Kabeama–Ebeni Road, among others.
Diri urged lawmakers to give the budget “careful consideration and expeditious passage.”
In his remarks, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere, commended the governor’s sustained investment in road development, education, sports, health, and power, describing them as key drivers of Bayelsa’s transformation.
“From my assessment, the overhaul of the education sector — recruitment, training, and establishment of technical schools — is yielding huge dividends,” Ingobere said.
He assured that the Assembly would give the budget proposal speedy consideration and passage to enable smooth implementation from January 2026.