Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has signed the 2021 Appropriation Bill of N329.29 billion into law.

Governor Diri had on November 26 presented an estimate of N290.295 billion tagged “Budget of Growth” to the state House of Assembly.

While assenting to the bill on Wednesday evening in Government House, Yenagoa, the governor said the increase in the figure would address areas of deficit identified in the appropriation bill as well as assist in the infrastructure development of the state.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as noting that the increase in the 2021 budget was intended to tackle the completion of the three senatorial roads, the AIT/Igbogene ring road project and construction of the Gloryland Drive in addition to rehabilitation of the internal roads within the Yenagoa metropolis.

His words: “We had a challenging year 2020. All what we anticipated did not go as planned because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lock down across the country.

“The three senatorial roads would receive expedited attention. The Gloryland Drive, AIT/Igbogene ring road project and the internal roads in Yenagoa that are in a state of disrepair would receive immediate attention as we go into year 2021.”

He urged the people, particularly the youths and business firms, to take advantage of areas of the budget that would aid creation of jobs and wealth.

“This administration is tagged Government of Prosperity. What we mean by prosperity is that our government needs to provide an enabling environment for our youths and women to be engaged so that they can earn a living. This is why we started the DiriBoost empowerment scheme, agricultural financing through the Central Bank of Bank as well as encouraging small and medium scale enterprises. These are some of the ways our state can grow.”

While commending the leadership of the state assembly for expeditious passage of the bill, the governor stressed the need to sustain the existing harmony between the executive and legislative arms of government, which he said was necessary for the stability and overall development of the state.

Presenting the budget, Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere, explained that the increase in the estimate was necessitated by various parameters, which include the price of crude oil, projects to be executed and the need to beef up the internally generated revenue.

Ingobere promised that the legislature would continue to support the executive for it to succeed in the overall interest of the state.

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