Yenagoa — Political appointees in Bayelsa state including the governor earn a total of N304million as monthly emoluments.

The state governor Henry Seriake Dickson who disclosed this during his monthly transparency briefing in Yenagoa, said the figure is high because of various interests that had to be accommodated.

He said the number of appointees would be gradually reduced in the course of the administration, noting that there is a lot to be done with funds in the state.

He said the total money the state had as balance at January 31, 2013 after meeting all the obligations of government for the month amounted to N17, 22,553,392,42.