NDDC: Despite not having a Board for three years, Chairman’s Office gulps N1.1b in two years

Facts have emerged that the Office of the Chairman of the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission spent N1.1 billion in two years.

This is despite the fact that the NDDC has had no Chairman since January 2019 when President Muhammadu Buhari dissolved the Board of the Commission and put it under the supervision of the Ministry of Niger Delta.

But in the two years budget of the Commission presented for the approval of the Senate, it was observed that the Commission spent N1.1 billion on the office of Board Chairman.

In addition to this, the two years budget were spent without the approval of the National Assembly, which has been empowered by the Constitution to give approval to the commission’s budget.

The breakdown showed that N68 million was spent on personnel cost in 2021 in the office of the Chairman, while N255 million was spent on overhead cost and N108 million on internal capital of the commission.

Also in 2022, The Chairman’s Office for personnel cost gulped N156 million, overhead N312 million, internal capital N 108 million, with the total budget N576 million.

The Senate declined to give approval for the two years budget spent without approval.

For the two years in question, the office of the Managing Director of the Commission spent N2.4 billion apart from other departments of the commission.