afrol News, 16 December - The Nigerian South-South parliamentary caucus has rejected N27 billion allocation in the proposed 2009 budget to Niger Delta Development Commission in the National Assembly yesterday, saying it was inadequate.

Local media reports have said the caucus expressed reservations to arbitrary allocations to the NDDC without option, saying the trend has blocked smooth operations of the NDDC and made it impossible to stimulate meaningful development in the oil rich region.

Protesting the allocation to NDDC in the 2009 budget, the caucus said least allocation was unjustifiable based on all revenue sources of Nigerian federal government. The caucus said that the correct sum of money due to the NDDC in the 2009 Budget should be N107.4 billion and not the N27 billion allocated in the budget estimates before the National Assembly.

The caucus demanded an extra-budgetary provision of N500 billion, made up of N300 billion to offset the arrears of statutory allocations owed the NDDC over the last eight years and N200 billion for the newly created Ministry of Niger Delta.

The House of Representatives has also threatened to ensure a zero allocation to the Ministry of Science and Technology if the Minister, Dr ABC Zaku failed to appear before it to defend its implementation of the 2008 budget as well as the ministry's proposals in the 2009 appropriation bill.

In early December, Nigerian finance minister blamed the National Assembly for poor performance of the 2008 budget saying their delayed approval could be attributed to sluggish implementation of the budget.

According to The Guardian, a local newspaper, the South-South Caucus led by the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Tunde Akogun, who read from the letter written to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, he stated that according to the NDDC Act 2000, Federal Government ought to pay to NDDC equivalent of 15 per cent of the total monthly statutory allocations due to member-states of the commission as the contribution of the Federal Government.

The caucus also urged the president to fund the Niger Delta ministry like the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, adding that there was nothing in the new budget that would excite the region about the creation of the ministry.

Nigeria recently established the delta ministry in paving proper channels in what seemed to be a deserted state, forcing rebels groups to vandalise oils pipes claiming to be fighting for the fair share of the oil proceeds in the Delta.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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