Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has presented a fresh ₦200 billion Supplementary Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly, citing a sharp rise in foreign debt servicing costs and other mounting liabilities as reasons for the request.

The document, dated January 2026 but linked to fiscal decisions taken in December 2025, offers insight into how the 2026 Appropriation Law, already assented to by the governor, was influenced by late-emerging financial pressures carried over from the 2025 budget cycle.

The supplementary bill seeks legislative approval to withdraw ₦200 billion from the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.

A breakdown of the proposal shows ₦140.65 billion earmarked for recurrent expenditure and ₦59.35 billion for capital expenditure.

Beyond foreign debt servicing, the government identified several fiscal pressure points, including lump-sum payments to clear accumulated pension arrears, described as an effort to “ameliorate the plight of pensioners.”

Other factors include increased state contributions to the Delta State Health Insurance Scheme due to a surge in enrolment, as well as the statutory payment of 10 per cent of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to local government councils, which exceeded earlier projections. The bill also makes provision for community projects in areas said to have “genuine and pressing needs.”

In official correspondence addressed to the Speaker of the House, the Oborevwori administration admitted that a “huge increase in the debt service amount, especially on the inherited foreign loans” followed the retranslation of the state’s debt stock using the newly realigned exchange rate.

According to the government, this development significantly altered fiscal projections and made additional spending unavoidable.

“The huge increase in the debt service amount, especially on the inherited foreign loans occasioned by the re-translation of the debt stock using the current realigned exchange rate,” the letter stated, listing it as one of the core justifications for the supplementary budget.

The admission places debt servicing, rather than fresh capital expansion, at the centre of Delta State’s latest fiscal adjustment, raising concerns about exposure to foreign exchange volatility and the long-term burden of inherited loans.

Recall that the Delta State Appropriation Law 2025 was originally passed at ₦979.23 billion, comprising ₦348.77 billion for recurrent expenditure and ₦630.46 billion for capital projects.

However, the government now concedes that improvements in revenue streams, combined with obligations that crystallised late in 2025, forced a rethink of the spending framework.

“Although the Budget Estimates for the 2026 Fiscal Year were presented in November 2025, subsequent improvements in the State’s revenue streams, coupled with the need to sustain the delivery of this administration’s M.O.R.E. Agenda, necessitated additional expenditures,” the governor explained.