Senate approves N299bn NDDC budget

The Senate on Thursday passed the 2015 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission totalling N299.5bn

The budget comprised N271bn project (development) expenditure; N16.1bn personnel expenditure; N10.4bn overhead expenditure; and N1.8bn as capital expenditure.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Senator James Manager, told his colleagues at the plenary that the budget would be financed from projected revenue of N300bn, part of which will be drawn from N160bn contribution from oil companies.

He also said that the balance will come from the N70bn provision from the Federal Government; N40bn Ecological Fund; N20bn unpaid arrears by the Federal Government; N10bn being revenue brought forward and N100m as Internally Generated Revenue.

Manager said the budget also included N28.4bn non-project expenditure which comprised personnel, overheads and the internal capital representing 9.5 percent, against 8.43 per cent proposed in 2014.

He also said the N271bn approved as project development expenditure represents N90.5 per cent of the proposed budget, as against the 91.46 percent proposed in 2014.

The senator said, “It is pertinent to mention that due to the peculiar nature of the NDDC budget, the committee finds that it is necessary to separate the capital budget meant for use internally by the commission from capital budget meant for project development.”

He said the budget would be operative from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.

He urged the senate to pursue the proper calculation and the release of 15 per cent statutory contribution by the Federal Government for the funding of NDDC.

He stressed the need for the senate to assist in enforcing the payment of the statutory 50 per cent of monies meant for NDDC member-states from the Ecological Fund with a view to enhancing the commission’s revenue base.

Manager also urged the senate to direct the management of NDDC to avoid “carrying out any virement in the approved budget without recourse to the National Assembly.”

Meanwhile, the senate in the plenary passed into law the Nigerian Immigration Amendment Bill, 2015, which repealed the Nigerian Immigration Act of 1963.

The upper chamber also passed into law the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan Bill 2015.