NDDC received N946.91b allocation in 18 years

THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) received a whopping N946.91 billion as budgetary allocation in 18 years, findings by The Nation has shown.

The sum is part of the N9.43 trillion allocated between 1999 to 2019.as 13 percent derivation to the nine oil-producing states and other agencies of the Federal Government involved developing oil-producing communities.

Figures sourced from the Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) at the weekend contain the figures.

Information garnered from the Budget Office showed that the NDDC allocation is subsumed in the Ministry of Niger Delta’s total allocation.

It is only in few instances that the commission’s allocations were separated.

For instance, the NDDC got a budgetary allocation of N61,94bn in 2014;   N45.78bn in 2015, and   N71. 2bn in 2018.

Other allocations that the commission got were buried in the main allocation of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and so the exact amount could not be readily determined.

But budgetary allocation to the  NDDC, from 2004 to 2019 stands at N769bn with the highest allocations of N81.9bn  in 2018 and ?100.19bn in 2019.

Read Also: Money stolen from NDDC must be returned, says Ojaide

Monthly  FAAC disbursements, NDDC through the oil mineral producing states benefitted from 13% derivation amounting to N8.66t

Figures from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) showed that without fail, the 13% derivation was paid to the governments of the states identified as oil mineral producing states.

Distribution from Foreign Excess Crude Savings Account for July 2009 Augmentation; Distribution of $2billion from Foreign Excess Crude Savings Account; and Exchange Gain Difference were also paid out to the oil-producing states among other payouts.

The office of the  Auditor-General of the Federation has queried over N70 million spent by the NDDC to accommodate persons at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja between 2008 and 2012.

In the extracted review of responses to its audit query, the office also noted the multiplicity of hotel bills and receipts, some of which the commission said were missing.

It also identified about N133.16 million spent as advances on community engagements and project inspection which were not properly accounted for.

The extract review reads in part: “Given this, the then Acting Managing Director…. accordingly approved for the guests to be accommodated at the Transcorp Hilton Hotels, Abuja.

The rooms were reserved in the name of the Ag. Managing Director and her S.A. At the end of it, the hotel management issued us with receipts.

“We used the receipts as part of the documents in retiring the N70,000,000 (N50.000,000 and N20,000,000) that we collected for this purpose. The N10.000,000 that was left unspent at the end of the exercise was refunded.