|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The N241.47 billion budget proposal for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and N260.60 billion budget proposal for Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) scaled through second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Majority Leader, who led the debate on the budget proposal for FCT, explained the sum of N52.371 billion is for personnel cost and the sum of N40.039 billion is for overhead cost while the sum of N149.056 billion is for capital projects.
According to him, the sum of N24.82 billion was proposed for ongoing Abuja Light Rail project while the sum of N18.26 billion is for provision of infrastructure and social amenities to FCT surburbs and resettlement sites.
“These projects when completed will help decongest the city and make satellite towns functional, habitable and attractive,” Gbajabiamila said.
From the total sum of N260.064 billion proposed for the Niger Delta Development Commission, the sum of N17.560 billion is for personnel costs, N9.980 billion is for recurrent expenditure and N130 billion is for internal capital expenditure while N231.224 billion is for development projects for the service of the commission.
According to him, “the 2016 NDDC budget would be financed from a projected revenue of N260.6 billion drawn from N130 billion contribution from oil companies; N60 billion provision from Federal Government; N10 billion from the Ecological Fund; N50 billion unpaid arrears by Federal Government; N9.9 billion as revenue brought forward and N100 million internally generated revenue (IGR).
“This budget gives back to the chicken that laid the golden egg, thus the 2016 NDDC budget identified nine key performance indicators (KPI) that will signify the development of the Niger Delta for the next one year.”
The priority sectors are: Education, Energy/power supply, health, roads/bridges, governance, social services and sports; information technology; industrial and enterprise development; water supply and ecology/environmental renewal.
Gbajabiamila added that the “nine states in the Niger Delta, government has provided N120 million for the production of domestic gas, automotive gas and generation of electricity through the use of water hyacinth plant and sewage; completion of ongoing 18 model university hostels across the nine States; provision of N1.3 billion for NDDC graduate/post graduate scholarships in engineering, medical engineering and selected science/technology areas.
Others include: injection of N150 million for the rehabilitation of adult literacy colleges (one per state); construction of 132/33KVA transmission line from Bomadi town to Ogriagbene in Bomadi LGA, Delta State at the cost of N1.05 billion.
