The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it is ready to partner with critical stakeholders of the region to fashion out an implementable budget for the commission in the 2024 budget.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said this in Uyo on Monday during a stakeholders’ engagement.
The Tide source reports that the theme for the two-day conference is “Partners for sustainable development forum – NDDC 2024 Budget conference”.
Ogbuku said the forum was designed to provide a veritable platform for achieving effective budgeting system, in line with the Federal Government’s ‘’Renewed Hope’’ project.
He said: “This conference is very vital. For one, it helps to revive the platform of the partners for sustainable development forum, which was created as part of the regional masterplan implementation guideline.
“It also helps to bring all service providers and project implementers to the same table to fashion a common pathway based on shared vision for the development of the region.
“For another, it affords all of us the incentive and opportunity to pool our resources together, initiate projects and programmes within the obligatory goal of building a better region and empowering our people.
“By so doing, we would, arising from the conference, galvanise our energies for a common purpose, eliminate duplications and institutional suspicions in the development process.
“We would also reduce the incidence of working at cross purposes as well as reduce wastage of scarce resources allocated for regional development initiatives by all stakeholders.
“And to succeed, we must remain committed to doing things differently”, Ogbuku said.
In a keynote address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, urged the commission “to evolve budgets that would meet the development needs of the states and communities in the region”.
Belgore, represented by the Director of Planning and Statistics, Mr Alfred Abba, said that NDDC budgets over the years were faced with challenges, which included belated submission and delayed approvals, amongst others.
Abba said that those challenges led to low as well as poor implementation, which the conference hoped to address.
“The commission is procedurally to submit the budget proposal to the ministry, which would in turn submit to the Presidency, after scrutiny and review.
“Upon submission, the Presidency then transmits it to the National Assembly,” he said.
According to him, the way forward is to embrace robust and innovative pathways anchored on transparency and stakeholders’ participation towards right-budgeting, thus maximising the available resources to address the most critical needs of the people,” he said.
The source reports that the meeting was attended by representatives of governments of the nine Niger Delta states, international oil companies, traditional rulers, youth groups and civil society organisations, amongst others.