BAYELSA, Nigeria – The Bayelsa State Government says new special allowances for public servants and workers in tertiary institutions will increase its monthly salary expenditure by approximately ₦3bn from October 2026.
The Technical Adviser on Treasury, Accounts and Revenue to Governor Douye Diri, Timipre Seipolu, disclosed this on Friday during the state’s transparency briefing on its revenue and expenditure for August and September 2026.
He said workers in tertiary institutions would receive more than ₦900m monthly, while peculiar allowances for other categories of public servants would cost the state about ₦2bn. “These two components alone will increase the state’s monthly salary bill by about N3bn, commencing from October 2026,” Seipolu said.
He added that the government had also committed to paying outstanding arrears dating back to January 2026. Seipolu said about 65,411 workers were covered by the state’s salary payment arrangements, noting that different professional groups operated distinct salary structures and allowance systems.
He listed doctors, nurses, investigators, civil servants, university employees and fire service personnel among the categories with separate remuneration arrangements based on the nature of their duties. “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.
The technical adviser described the new allowances as part of the Diri administration’s efforts to improve workers’ welfare and recognise the different demands and responsibilities of public sector professions. The disclosure provides details of the expected increase in the state’s recurrent expenditure as the new allowances take effect from October.
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