The government of Bayelsa State has plans to borrow a sum of 43.57 billion Naira to augment the proposed 310.7 billion Naira budgeted for the 2022 fiscal year.
According to reports, the borrowing plan is contained in the state's 2022 Appropriation Bill.
According to Peoples Gazette, the Bayelsa state debt profile stood at 169 billion Naira. The debt grew to that amount after the state House of Assembly granted Governor Douye Diri approval to obtain an additional loan of 18.7 billion Naira.
Expantaiting further, according to the Debt Management Office website, Bayelsa state's debt as of June 2021 pegs at 150.60 billion, which is a 27.6 billion Naira increase on the 123 billion Naira loan inherited by the current administration on assumption of office in February 2020.
On the 2022 Appropriation Bill, on October 20, Gov. Diri presented the bill to the state House of Assembly which subsequently forwarded it to the Committee on Appropriation for legislative action.
The bill which is currently under consideration put the running cost of governance of the state at 70.56 billion Naira and set aside 61.75 billion Naira for debt servicing and repayments.
According to Gov. Diri, the 18.7 billion Naira loan has a 30-year tenure and will enable the state government to meet its financial obligations.
The 18.7 billion Naira loan is, however, the fourth in the series of loans taken by the Gov. Diri administration since the assumption of office in February 2020.
Bayelsa State had taken a loan of 2.9 billion in March to purchase cars for the governor, the deputy governor and other government officials, barely two weeks after assumption of office.
Also in November 2020, Gov. Diri got a loan of 17 billion Naira from multiple sources. And in December 2020, he acquired another loan of 3.5 billion Naira.