This came a day after Nairametrics revealed that Nyesom Wike, Rivers State governor disclosed that the many projects he has delivered were financed with accumulated 13% derivation funds, which Rivers and other Niger Delta states were owed since 1999.
The Bayelsa State government acknowledged that it also received its derivation arrear payments but claims the FG underpaid the state.
This was disclosed by Douye Diri, the governor of Bayelsa in a statement on Tuesday.
Diri stated that Bayelsa had received funding and had been deploying same to capital projects, citing that Bayelsa discounted the funds.
- “For people who are talking about the 13% derivation funds due to the state, I want to state that for one reason or the other, we were underpaid. When we discovered that, we followed the due process from the State Executive Council to the State House of Assembly. Approvals were given and the funds were discounted.
- “I do not play politics with this kind of thing. For anybody who wants to see how we use our money, our monthly transparency briefing on our financial income and expenditure is available.”
He noted that It is costlier to build a one-kilometre road in Yenagoa than four kilometres elsewhere.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported earlier that the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, explained how he managed to finance the numerous projects in the state currently, stating that the projects were financed with accumulated 13% derivation funds, which Rivers and other Niger Delta states were owed since 1999.
The funds were recently released by the presidency. He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the release of the funds even though Rivers State is governed by an opposition party. He also emphasised that the money was not from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
