Nigeria Content Online

The National
Assembly, yesterday, passed the 2010 budget of the Niger Delta
Development Commission, adding N4bn to the requested sum and renaming
the N90m earlier billed for “staff marriage”.

Lawmakers reviewed
the spending plan of the regional commission from N236.5bn to N240.5bn,
with over N3.99bn added to “developmental projects” at the regional
office of the commission in Port Harcourt.

The additional
amount for the office raised its total to N109.4bn for projects which
will involve skill acquisition programmes and a renewed mass transit
scheme.

The House NDDC
committee would not state what the extra funds will be applied for, but
indicated on the House paper as the eleventh item, named “additional
revenue”. Funds allocated for such projects in each of the nine oil
producing states, remained the same with the highest amount of N27.4bn,
N22.99bn and N19.2bn, going to Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Delta states.

Lawmakers also
rephrased the allocation of N90m to cater for staff marriages and
funeral donations, two days after its earlier approval of the plan drew
wide condemnations.

Staff welfare

The initial
quotation which read “Death/Bereavement/Condolence
purse/Transportation/Marriage” as part of personnel incentives, has
been replaced with “staff welfare” as stated in the final document
passed Thursday.

On Wednesday,
before the budget proposal was referred to the committee, lawmakers
complained of huge overhead cost detailed by the commission, and
particularly condemned the planned use of N90m for marriage donations,
when the commission faces unresolved developmental challenges in the
oil region.

“Besides the timing
of the budget, which shows the level of seriousness the commission
attaches to the region, we should really consider the individual over
head costs of this budget which are too high,” the House Business and
Rules committee chairman, Ita Enang, noted Tuesday.

The change in name drew no response from the legislators as they
rounded up considerations on key issues to commence a 12 week vacation
ending October 12, 2010.