When President Umaru Yar’ Adua presented the 2009 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly on Tuesday 2 December 2008, he said the Federal Government hopes to spend a total of N2.87 trillion as its budget next year.
The proposed aggregate expenditure represents a 4.45 per cent increase over the initial 2008 appropriation of N2.748 trillion and 8.42 per cent above the 2008 amended budget of N2.647 trillion.
It also has a dangerous inbuilt gap of N1.09 trillion or 38 per cent of the total budget as anticipated deficit.
As presented, the 2009 Appropriation Bill ceded 91 per cent of the capital vote to five key priority sectors, namely: N361.2bn for critical infrastructure including capital allocations of N88.5bn for power; N15.4bn for aviation; N26.5bn for petroleum resources; N129.3bn for works; N35.2bn for transport and N48.7bn (out of a capital vote of N64.45bn) for critical infrastructure within the Federal Capital Territory.
The President in his presentation assured that the focus of the proposed expenditure will be to execute key projects in power, transportation, land reform and food security, works and the Niger Delta.
However, the figures allocated to the Niger Delta, one of the critical focus areas have been generating controversies from the region where the people have assumed that the President’s sincerity is very blurred and his actual intent obscured.
In the budget, President Yar’Adua announced N27 billion for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and N47.928 billion for the new Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. This brings the total allocation to N74.928 billion for the troubled region.
And the figure represents about 10.8 percent reduction from the statutory allocation for development projects in the region in the 2008 budget which totaled about N84 billion though a better part of that money is yet to be released for use.
It is very interesting that all the critical sectors under the President’s seven-point agenda recorded tangible increase in allocation in the proposed budget. Only the uncritical Niger Delta recorded a tangible reduction even though the peculiar issues of the region occupy a critical part of the seven-point agenda.
In 2008 budgetary allocation, the National Assembly (in series) increased the NDDC budget to about N84 billion, though the actual amount release is still being shrewd in secrecy in a conspiracy between the Presidency and some top operators of the NDDC.
If the NDDC was allocated about N84 billion in 2008 and in 2009 the new Ministry and the NDDC are to get N74.928 billion (promissory) it clearly shows how serious the Federal Government is with all the jives about securing a lasting solution to the root cause of the ongoing armed agitation by militants representing the aggrieved people of the region.
For emphasis, let’s recalled that this same Federal Government budgeted a whopping N400 billion for security alone in the Niger-Delta last year.
And as if the slash of the allocation was not a stern-enough act, the deliberate allocation of funds in the budget to both the NDDC and the new Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as separate entities could best be described as a ‘grey initiative’ packaged to work against the corporate interest of the region.
There are some curious issues that need to be addressed and this may also help unveil the plot of mischief in the funding of NDDC and the newly created Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as distinct entities.
Has anybody bothered to define a clear -cut assignment of roles or rather areas of jurisdiction in implementation of projects and programmes for both the NDDC and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as both outfits will be receiving monies direct from the Budget Office?
What should the NDDC be doing that will be different from what the Ministry plans to do with the budgetary allocations for next fiscal year apart from funding the construction of east-west road? Where should the dividing line be and who does the demarcating- NDDC, the Ministry or the Presidency?
As the NDDC will be getting its budgetary allocation direct from the source, who controls the agency- the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs or the President as currently obtains?
The issue of roles and supervision has to be firmly addressed. If not, it is likely going to produce a scenario where the NDDC may collect its N27 billion (or whatever the federal government musters the will power to release) and pockets the money under claims of using it to offset part of the debts owned contractors and vendors. The commission may think that the new Ministry would hit the ground running with projects which will effectively cover any gap that may result from NDDC’s moves. This is just a scenario.
The new ministry also may collect its N47.928 billion allocation (or any amount as may be released) and pockets it too hiding under the pretence of trying to set up effective structures for sustainable service delivery and this may take the entire budget year to do with the hope that the NDDC would cover any gap.
Then it would ultimately become a blackmail situation where the same Federal Government that allowed the divide and rule arrangement would come up to say that the people of the region have no moral stand to ask for increased allocation or release of debts owed it since the monies given to the region (through NDDC and the Ministry) were not judiciously utilized for projects and programmes. The people of the region would again be at the receiving end.
It very surprising that the self-acclaim leaders of the Niger Delta who have been “terribly angered” by the “paltry sum” allocated for the region in the proposed budget are not bothered about this intricate issue of separation or rather merging of roles for effective utilization of whatever funds comes to the region for development. Papas deceive pikins (pdp)!
From obvious indications, there is a deliberate attempt to pitch the NDDC against the yet-to-take-off Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. Such conflict seems to be well packaged to extend the drag on the issue of quick people-oriented interventionist approach to address the ongoing armed confrontation and massive crude oil stealing in the region by people from outside the area. The longer the crisis lasts, the better for the real oil thieves. Na true be that!