The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, approved the Niger Delta Development Commission’s (NDDC) 2024 Appropriation Bill totaling N1.91 trillion. This decision came after the House considered and adopted the report of the Committee on NDDC, chaired by Mrs. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu during the day’s plenary session.
Earlier in July, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, defended the commission’s 2024 budget before the House Committee on NDDC. He outlined that the commission plans to finance a significant portion of its proposed expenditure through loans amounting to approximately N1 trillion.
“We have strategically made provisions towards diversifying our sources of funding as we intend to source an aggregate sum of N1 trillion to fund ongoing legacy projects of the commission in 2024. The sum will be outsourced from development and commercial banks, “Ogboku said, stressing that “Investing in critical infrastructure is a key component of our fiscal strategy under the 2024 budget proposals”.
Justifying the need to pass the budget, Ibori-Suenu gave a breakdown of the financial expenditure and sources of funding, saying, “We urge the House to consider the report of the Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission on the issue from the Statutory Revenue Fund of the Niger Delta Development Commission the total sum of N1.911tn, out of which the sum of N38.55bn is for personnel expenditure, while the sum of N29.25bn only is for overhead expenditure.
According to the Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker, “N8.79 bn only is for internal capital expenditure, the sum N835.22bn only is for development projects, while the sum of N1tn only is for legacy projects funded by borrowing for the year ending April 30, 2025.”
Here’s a breakdown of the budget allocations for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the 2024 fiscal year:
1. Development Projects in Head Office and Nine States (Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, Rivers): N1.84 trillion.
2. Staff Welfare: N531.78 billion.
3. Severance Benefits: N2.3 billion.
4. Medical Insurance: N92 billion.
5. Staff Housing Scheme: N800.52 billion.
6. Promotion Arrears: N1.7 billion.
7. Voluntary Retirement Benefit Scheme: N1.8 billion.
8. Pension: N750 million.
9. Recruitment Services: N825.54 million, among other expenditures.
Recently, President Bola Tinubu approved the NDDC’s request to borrow an additional N1 trillion to support its developmental projects for 2024. The approval, conveyed by Senate President Godswil Akpabio at a Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit in Port Harcourt, underscores the administration’s commitment to fostering lasting development in the oil-rich region.
“Mr President is very committed to ensuring the development of the Niger Delta. The Bayelsa-Rivers-Akwa Ibom Road called East-West Road will be tackled.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road started by the President will not only start from Lagos, Mr President has also agreed that it must also take root from Niger Delta simultaneously, then it will get up with the one in Lagos.
“The Niger Delta Development Commission has never had the kind of budget that they are having in 2024. The President has approved that they can go ahead and get a soft loan of N1tn to complete all the other projects that they have in mind to bring quick development to this region. So the MD of NDDC is no longer going to lack funds, it is going to be the issue of commitment.
“We will not have people from Abuja coming here to stay in the hotel and requesting to be in NDDC to collect money and take it back to other states of the federation. We are going to spend the money of NDDC right here in the Niger Delta region, ”Akpabio was quoted as saying on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief.”
Following the adoption of the committee’s recommendations, it is expected to be gazetted for Third Reading by the House Committee on Rules and Business ahead of the third reading and passage.
