Paris Club Refunds: Bayelsa Govt. denies receiving N24.89 bn, insists it got only N14.5 bn

 Paris Club Refunds: Bayelsa Govt. denies receiving N24.89 bn, insists it got only N14.5 bn

Bayelsa government on Wednesday dismissed figures released by Federal Ministry of Finance on the state’s share of the first tranche of the N516.38 billion Paris Club debt refund.

Federal Ministry of Finance on Friday published reimbursement to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

Hon. Jonathan Obuebite, Bayelsa Commissioner for Information and Orientation, said in Yenagoa, that the report of N24.89 bn was a rumour.

“The figures we declared for March was N14.5 bn, we later discovered that we were short paid just like Rivers, but we got some more money, but it is not anything near the N24.89 they claim, it is still a rumour.

“At a later time this week when we shall be declaring April 2017 finances, the finance team will announce the figures, I do not have it at the moment,”Obuebite said.

However, details of first tranche repayments from the Federal Ministry of Finance showed that Bayelsa got the sum N24.89 bn, whereas the state maintained that it only got N14.5 leaving a difference of N10.39 bn.

Salisu Dambatta, the Director of Information in the Ministry of Finance, had stated that the payments were made following the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari on November 12, 2016.

Reacting to the development, Stanley Ogoun, the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Niger Delta University chapter expressed surprise at the wide disparity between the figures from both sources.

The ASUU chairman said the onus is on the state government to explain to Bayelsa people if truly it was N24.89bn or N14.5bn that the government received.

Also, Alagoa Morris, a human rights activist, said the disparity casts serious doubts on the state government’s transparency stance and the monthly transparency briefings where public financial figures are made public.

“The difference alone would go a long way to address the nagging issues of salaries and pensions owed state and LGA workers; the authorities owe Bayelsa people explanation on the difference, “Morris said.