The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has submitted a proposed budget of 1.75 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year to the Senate. This move comes as the upper chamber begins plans to conduct a physical assessment of projects executed by the commission between 2021 and 2024. The Senate Committee on NDDC, which received the proposal, intends to embark on an extensive oversight tour to evaluate ongoing and completed projects across the Niger Delta region.
According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Samuel Ogbuku, the 2025 proposal represents a nine percent reduction from the 1.985 trillion proposed and appropriated for the 2024 fiscal year. The breakdown of the proposed 2025 budget shows that 776.5 billion is expected as contribution from the Federal Government, while 752.8 billion is anticipated from oil companies. Additionally, 109.4 billion will be brought forward from 2024 as revenue, 53.67 billion will come from recoveries from Federal Government agencies, and 8.35 billion will be generated as internally generated revenue.
Out of the 1.75 trillion projected expenditure for 2025, 1.631 trillion is earmarked for project execution across the Niger Delta region. Furthermore, 22.3 billion is allocated for internal project execution, 47.56 billion for personnel costs, and 49.93 billion for overhead expenses. The NDDC boss also reported that as of October 31, 2025, the commission recorded actual revenue of 1.985 trillion, exceeding the target of 1.911 trillion, largely due to the extension of the 2024 budget implementation period.
Following the budget presentation, the Senate Committee on NDDC held a closed-door session with the NDDC management and top officials. After the session, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, announced that the committee will conduct an extensive oversight tour of ongoing and completed NDDC projects across the nine Niger Delta states in January 2026. The committee observed a minute of silence in honor of the former Chairman of the committee, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, who passed away two weeks ago.
The proposed budget and planned oversight tour are significant steps towards ensuring the effective development of the Niger Delta region. The commission’s efforts to improve its revenue performance and execute projects efficiently will be closely monitored by the Senate Committee. As the committee prepares for its oversight tour, it is expected to provide a comprehensive assessment of the NDDC’s projects and performance, which will inform future decisions and allocations.