Less than 53 days to the end of 2012, the Senate on Thursday endorsed a 2012 budget of N250,857,925,434.00 for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The endorsed budget included Personal Expenditure of N10,218,484,743, Overhead Expenditure of N7,565,400,131,00, Capital Expenditure (internal) Expenditure of N1,017,825,000 as well as Projects (Development) Expenditure of N232,056,215,560.00.Chairman of the committee, Senator James Manager, explained that the non-project expenditure such as Personnel, Overhead and the Internal Capital totaling N14,555.28 million represented 7.5 per cent of the total proposed budget for the year as against 6.7 per cent in 2011.
Although the budget was approved, the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, frowned at the perpetual late presentation of the budget by the commission.
He also described a situation where budget is presented barely two months to the end of the year as unacceptable adding that the integrity of the management and staff of the commission is on the line.
He therefore warned that if the management of the commission fails to present its 2013 budget before the end of the year, it risks rejection by by the senate.
He complained that since 1999 the commission has made it a habit of presenting budgets late, impinging on implementation.
” This is totally unacceptable. How do they intend to spend N250bn before the end of the year? There is so much complaint about Niger Delta Development Commission.
“This is not right and if we don’t get the budget for 2013 before the end of this year, they should forget it.”
He also charged the Senate Committee on Niger Delta to step up oversight of the commission saying members of the committee has a lot more work to do.
The Senate had considered the request of President Goodluck Jonathan to approve the
2012 budgetary proposal of the commission on September 20 and referred it to its Committee on Niger Delta for further legislative action.