National Assembly Panel Meets With NDDC Over 2021 Budget

Officials of the Niger Delta Development Commission  (NDDC) have met with a joint session Of the National Assembly Committees on Niger Delta Affairs.
The agency had appeared before the panel to defend its proposed budget for the year 2021.
Although details of the proposed budget were not made public, a source in the agency – who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, confirmed that the meeting was held last week.
The National Assembly has not approved a budget for the NDDC in two years.
The last budget approved was in 2020, where the lawmakers okayed N453,2 billion for the commission for 2020.
The approval was done amid opposition from some senators who had kicked against the budgetary allocations, citing administrative illegalities in the commission.
The NDDC, which was created by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in response to decades of complaints of neglect by the oil-rich region, has little to show for the billions of naira it has received in the 19 years of its existence.
Prior to the last NDDC budget approval, the lawmakers had vowed not to pass any budget for the commission until a new board is constituted.
Although the Senate had confirmed 15 nominees for the NDDC board in October 2019, the president refused to inaugurate the board.