The House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 9, began the consideration of the 2024 budget of three Nigeria Delta Development Commission (NDDC) of N1.911 trillion.
Speaking at the commencement of three budget defence, the managing director of NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said the commission plans to source the money for the budget by borrowing N1 trillion from commercial and development banks in the country.
The commission also expects N170 billion as arrears owed it by the federal government and recoveries by government agencies, a federal government statutory contribution of N324.8 billion, an ecological fund of N25 billion, an oil company contribution of N375 billion, and an IGR of N1 billion.
He disclosed that the commission planned to find its legacy projects with the N1 trillion to be borrowed from the banks, while about N835. 222 billion will be spent on other development projects.
Ogboku said the commission is conscious of the fact that investing in critical infrastructure is a key component of the fiscal strategy under the budget, adding that the management is reinventing its process of intervention by adopting a public-private partnership model as a vehicle to drive sustainable development in the Niger Delta region.
In line with this, he said, the commission has developed a partnership with the Industrial Training Fund to gainfully engage the youth of the region to reduce crime and economic sabotage.
Giving an insight into the performance of the commission since the assumptions of the office of the current board, Ogboku said the operation light up the Niger Delta region has seen a reasonable number of communities being lit up using solar-powered street lights which has boosted the economic activities of the communities.
He said further that through its free medical. Mission, the commission has provided health solutions to over two million Niger Deltans across communities in the Region and remains committed to working with relevant stakeholders to improve healthcare and all other critical sectors that impact positively on the overall development of the health and wellness of the people of the Region.
He said the commission awarded foreign scholarships to 750 individuals between 2023-2024 (for 2022, 2023 & 2024 years) and provided educational grants to 84 individuals, and is in the process of distributing 45,000 Ulesson tablets preloaded with Nigerian and WAEC syllabi to schools in the 9 States in the Niger Delta region.
He said further that the commission was redefining the standards of governance and effectiveness in driving positive change in the region, commissioning over 5 flagship projects within 10 days.
He examined that in response to the frequent flooding challenges faced by Niger Deltans, the commission embarked on the clearing of waterways to page way for easy flow of water during heavy downpour as well as the construction of multipurpose emergency shelters with the capacity to accommodate 1000 persons.
He said the aggregate revenue of the commission in 2023 was N876 Billion naira was projected to fund the 2023 Budget “Budget of Rewind to Rebirth.”
This comprises Overhead costs of N174 Billion, personnel costs of N34.2, Internal Capital costs of N3.7 Billion, and Capital costs of 820.5 Billion.
On the 2023 budget, he said as of April 30th, 2024, the Commission’s actual aggregate revenue inflow was N683.2 Billion naira, approximately 78 percent of the targeted N876 Billion naira, comprising N146.4 billion representing (122%) from the federal government and N394 billion representing (141%) from Oil & Gas Companies.
The chairman of the House Committee, Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu said the budget was crucial to the success of the Commission, stressing that the House will carry out a diligent consideration of the presentation, scrutinizing every detail.
She said the NDDC has brought remarkable development to the Niger Delta region, stressing that the partnership with state government in the region has continued to bring tremendous improvement to the region.
(CDA News)
