The Senate has approved a total sum of N1.911 trillion as the 2024 statutory budget for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The budget was approved Tuesday after the upper chamber considered the report of the Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission presented by its chairman, Asuquo Ekpeyoung.
According to the report, the NDDC proposes to borrow N1 trillion. However, lawmakers argued that the borrowing plan did not follow due process, and urged the Commission to work with relevant government agencies on loan approval.
The Commission planned to spend N38.545 billion on personnel costs; Overhead costs of N29.246 billion and Internal Capital of N8.785 billion. The NDDC also projected N324 billion as a federal government contribution and N25 billion ecology fund.
Samuel Ogbuku, a managing director who appeared before the Committee for the budget on Monday informed that the Commission would fund legacy projects with the N1trn it intends to borrow from commercial and development banks.
He also said the commission was expecting N375 billion as oil companies’ contributions and projected N5bn as Internally Generated Revenue.
Ogbuku put the agency’s outstanding revenue from last fiscal year at N12 billion, arrears owed by the Federal Government and recoveries by federal agencies at N170 billion.
