The Bayelsa State Government allocated N1.6 billion for refreshments and meals/nutrition and N219 million for Annual Praise Night and Thanksgiving Service under six MDAs in the state’s 2023 budget

The thanksgiving allocation is broken down as follows: N60 million under the government house, N5 million under the deputy governor’s office, N150 million under the director for intergovernmental affairs’ office, N2 million under Fadama, N1.5 million under the State Independent Electoral Commission and N500,000 under the Higher Education Loans Board.

Summed together, the budget for the event is N219 million, and by the second quarter of 2023, about N50.7 million had already been utilised for the one-day event set for November 2.

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WHAT IS THE BAYELSA STATE ANNUAL PRAISE NIGHT/THANKSGIVING SERVICE?

After the 2012 floods, Seriake Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa State, enacted the Bayelsa State Annual Praise Night and Thanksgiving Service to be held annually on November 2. It was to rededicate the state to God and promote Christianity in the state, he said.

As a result, every November 2 has been declared a public holiday, and millions of naira are spent each year to commemorate the event.

In the past three years, the thanksgiving service has cost N493,000,000. When broken down, it means that a one-day thanksgiving service to rededicate the state to God cost N107 million, N167 million and N219 million in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.

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FIJ also observed that the MDAs that received funding for the thanksgiving service varied yearly.

In 2021, for instance, allocation was made to seven MDAs: N80 million to the government house, N5 million to the deputy governor’s office, N20 million to the Special Adviser on Intergovernmental Affairs Office, and N500,000 to the Special Adviser on Women Mobilisation Office.

The Special Adviser on Youth Mobilisation office, the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC) and the Higher Education Students Loan Board, also received N500,000 each.

This slightly differs from the MDAs that were allocated funds in the 2023 budget; the offices of the Special Adviser on Women Mobilisation and Special Adviser on Youth Mobilisation were dropped, while Fadama was added.

It is unclear how these organisations are linked to the organisation of the yearly thanksgiving celebration and why they were funded for its celebration. Fadama is a development programme for agricultural infrastructure. The office of the Special Adviser on Women Mobilisation, according to Dickson, who created the appointment in 2016, does just that – mobilises women – and the office of the Special Adviser on Youth Mobilisation, well, mobilises youth. Yet, they have been allocated generous amounts for this event, as recorded under their miscellaneous expenditures.

MORE ODD MISCELLANEOUS EXPENDITURES

Further investigation into the miscellaneous expenditures of several MDAs in the state’s 2023 budget revealed even more intriguing allocations. To begin with, miscellaneous expenditures increased by more than N8 billion, from N20 billion in 2022 to N28.8 billion in 2023, and they included expenses such as N206 million for burial logistics; N1.6 billion for refreshments and meals/nutrition; N193 million for VIP hosting expenses; and N156 million for marriage ceremony support.