By Ken Afor
The Bayelsa State Government has responded to the latest report from the Economic Confidential, the 2022 Annual States Viability Index, which suggests that the state, along with six others, is facing financial insolvency.
The state governor, Douye Diri, criticized the report, stating that it solely relied on federal allocation and Internally Generated Revenue to assess a state’s viability, without taking into account the federal government’s expropriation of their resources.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, stated that Governor Diri gave the address at the 124th State Executive Council meeting at the Government House in Yenagoa, the capital of the state, on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the 2022 ASVI report published on December 18, 2023, The Economic Confidential asserted that Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Taraba, Yobe, and Kebbi States were identified as “the six states that may not survive without the Federal Allocation due to their extremely poor internal revenue generation of less than 10 per cent compared to their federal allocations…”
According to the group, Bayelsa ranked at the bottom of the list with N273 billion received and a meager N15.9 billion generated, accounting for only 5.81% of the allocations.
Diri maintained that Bayelsa was not financially bankrupt and that these reports were being spread by “prophets of doom”.
He reiterated his plea for the implementation of genuine federalism and the restructuring of Nigeria in order to accurately assess the economic sustainability of each state.
The governor emphasized that Bayelsa, known for its abundant oil resources, is among the wealthiest states.
However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the imbalanced federalism system in the country, which has prevented the state from having control over its resources and natural wealth.
He strongly criticized the practice of the central government taking away states’ resources, leaving the sub-national entities reliant on monthly allocations. This situation was deemed unacceptable by the governor.
His words, “The prophets of doom will always make predictions that Bayelsa State is insolvent and I think they need to stop those predictions.
“We have called for a true and structured federalism. One of the richest states in Nigeria in terms of resources is Bayelsa. By no means will anybody convince me that our state is insolvent.
“We have been saying return our resources to us and let us compare what Bayelsa has with other states and see if we are one of those that cannot generate internal revenue.
“Now we depend on federal allocation where our resources have been expropriated, taken to Abuja and shared to other states. And you call us a poor state. That has to stop.”
