The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Tuesday presented a N1.75 trillion budget proposal for the 2025 financial year in the Senate, as lawmakers indicated plans to commence physical assessment of projects executed by the commission between 2021 and 2024.
The proposed expenditure plan was presented to the Senate Committee on NDDC, which is also preparing to conduct inspection visits to project sites in the Niger Delta region.
Speaking before the committee, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said the 2025 budget represents a nine per cent reduction from the N1.985 trillion proposed and appropriated for the 2024 financial year.
According to Ogbuku, the N1.75 trillion proposal includes N776.5 billion as contribution from the federal government, N752.8 billion from oil companies, N109.4 billion as revenue brought forward from 2024, N53.67 billion as recovery from federal government agencies and N8.35 billion as internally generated revenue.
He said that out of the total budget estimate for 2025, N1.631 trillion is earmarked for project execution in the Niger Delta region, N22.3 billion for internal project execution, N47.56 billion for personnel costs, and N49.929 billion for overhead expenses.
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On presentation of the 2024 budget, which was extended to December 31, 2025, Ogbuku told the committee chaired by Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) that as at October 31, 2025, the actual revenue of the commission stood at N1.985 trillion, higher than the projected target of N1.911 trillion.
He attributed the improvement in revenue performance largely to the extension of the budget cycle to 2024.
Following the presentation of the 2024 budget performance and 2025 budget proposal by the NDDC management, the committee held a closed-door meeting with Ogbuku and other senior officials of the commission.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Ekpenyong said the panel resolved to embark on a comprehensive inspection tour of ongoing and completed NDDC projects in the nine Niger Delta states in January 2026.
“In the closed-door session, the ongoing and completed projects were critically reviewed by the Commission, and the Committee resolved to conduct a comprehensive inspection visit to the nine affected states in January next year.
“There is no doubt that NDDC has executed a significant number of projects in the last financial year and is expected to execute even more projects in the coming year,” he said.
In line with the motion moved by Ned Nwoko (Delta North) and seconded by Vice Chairman of the Committee, Patrick Ndubueze (Imo North), members observed a minute's silence in respect of Peter Nwaoboshi, who chaired the committee during the ninth Senate and died two weeks ago.
