The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has allocated the sum of N200million on maintenance of website “and communication network.”

The Commission also allocated several lump sums running into billions of naira for projects and programmes that are at best incidental to its core mandate of infrastructure development of the Niger delta region.

These figures are contained in the 2016 Budget of the NDDC now before the National Assembly.

This budget is the first under a new management led by Acting Managing Director, Ibim Seminitari appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in December, 2015.

The budget contains a lump sum of N3.01billion for ‘Youths, Sports and Women Empowerment’ with no details of how the amount will be expended.

While the Commission allocated N500million for Agricultural and Fisheries Development in the Niger delta region, it penciled another N200million for Agricultural Exhibition and Showcasing of Agriculture Products and Equipment.

While in one allocation, the NDDC proposes to spend N500million on ‘Provision of orientation, conferences and regular summits with stakeholders in NDDC region,’ it also plans to spend N200million on ‘community stakeholders meetings.’

The budget allocated N200million each for project related conflict management and mitigation; community needs assessment; institutional strengthening to support project implementation; and regional information and communication assets and infrastructure.

The budget details also has N300million for ‘hosting of Niger delta sports festival ‘ and N100million for ‘value re-orientation and sensitization of communities against project vandalization’

OrderPaper.ng reports that most of these items are new introduction under the NDDC budget template and were put in at the expense of several ongoing infrastructure development projects across the Niger delta region.

The National Assembly is in the process of scrutinizing the 2016 NDDC budget which was submitted recently. ORDERPAPER.NG