Bayelsa State says its monthly salary bill will increase by about ₦3 billion from October 2026 following the approval of special allowances for public servants and tertiary institution workers.
The government disclosed that over ₦900 million of the increase will cover staff in the state’s tertiary institutions, while about ₦2 billion will go to other categories of workers under the peculiar allowance scheme.
The figures were revealed during the transparency briefing on the state’s income and expenditure for August and September 2026, held on Friday.
Timipre Seipolu, Technical Adviser on Treasury, Accounts and Revenue to Governor Douye Diri, who presented the report, said the approval was aimed at improving workers’ welfare and recognising the unique nature of different professions in the civil service.
“The state has approved special allowances for tertiary institutions, and the payment is commencing from October, even though the government has also committed to paying the arrears from January 2026,” he said.
According to him, the new package for tertiary institutions alone will push the monthly salary bill up by more than ₦900 million, while the allowances for other public servants will add another ₦2 billion.
“That alone will increase our monthly salary by about ₦2bn. So, these two components alone will increase the state’s monthly salary bill by about ₦3bn, commencing from October 2026,” Seipolu stated.
He clarified that the figure excludes arrears from January, which the government has also promised to clear.
The government said about 65,411 workers are currently on its payroll, adding that salaries remain a top priority in public spending.
Seipolu noted that estimating the state’s wage bill with a flat salary figure would be misleading because different professional groups operate distinct salary structures.
“It is not appropriate to estimate the state’s total wage bill by simply multiplying the number of workers across the different categories by a uniform salary figure,” he said.
He listed doctors, nurses, investigators, civil servants, university staff and fire service personnel as examples of groups with separate pay structures and special allowances tied to the demands of their jobs.
