NDDC plans to regularise budget cycle

The Niger Delta Development Commission has announced plans to regularise its budget cycle to align with the national budget, as it inaugurates an 18-member 2025 Budget Committee to prepare its budget proposals.

The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, stated this while addressing members of the committee during the inauguration at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.

Ogbuku said the committee would ensure that before the end of the 2024 budget cycle, the commission would have secured approval for the 2025 budget.

This was contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Tuesday by the NDDC Director of Corporate Affairs, Seledi Thompson-Wakama, and sent to newsmen.

The NDDC boss stated, “As we are about to implement the 2024 budget, we must begin preparation for the 2025 budget by holding consultations with our stakeholders. Last year, we hosted a two-day 2024 Budget of Reconstruction Conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.”

He added, “The committee will ensure that the budget reflects the needs of the people. To achieve this, we must have a stakeholders’ conference to gain their buy-in. We are not doing it for ourselves but for the collective benefit of
stakeholders in the Niger Delta region.”

He further stated that the NDDC budget would focus on funding achievable projects, noting, “We cannot develop the region in one year.”

Ogbuku said that as soon as President Bola Tinubu signs the 2024 budget passed by the National Assembly, the Commission would raise one trillion naira to fund some legacy projects initiated by previous administrations. One such project includes the Okrika-Borokiri Link Road in Rivers State.

Ogbuku also noted that the NDDC directors in the nine mandate states of the commission, as well as a representative from the Oil Producers Trade Section, would be incorporated into the Budget Committee.

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