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Niger Delta Budget information

The primary driver of conflict in the Niger Delta is the systematic failure of the Nigerian government to utilise the revenue generated through oil production for the good of the people.

The resultant poverty of the majority of the population is only dwarfed in seriousness by the excesses of the state elites. This disparity between the majority and minority is the direct result of endemic corruption, the 'chopping' of funds, that should have been used to benefit all.

Here we make available official budget documents in order that they can be scrutinised by the people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of the funds.

Download the Niger Delta Development Commission Budget 2010

For several months the NDDC has suffered from in-fighting amongst its senior management, much of it played out in public and chronicled in the newspapers. It is therefore ironic that they have been awarded a budget for 2010 of 240 billion Naira - approximately double that of the previous year.

As the budget was only passed in July, the plausibility of the NDDC spending its 240 Billion in just 5 months is highly questionable, but it also raises yet again the question of transparency. Like state governments the NDDC makes a good talk about due process and transparency, but it routinely limits the release of information on both its budgets and actual expenditures.

The NDDC has often been fortunate not to face tougher scrutiny - especially in light of credible claims that political patronage and graft have often had an overwhelming influence on the use of its funds.

Still missing from this budget is any kind of breakdown for the bulk of its budget made up of the capital investment it makes in projects across the region. The Presidency, civil society, donors and the public should take a much closer interest in demanding information that would allow them and the public to track the expenditure and activities of a body that suddenly has revenue exceeding that of any individual state in the region.

Download the complete Delta State Budget for 2010

We can now make available the complete Budget for Delta State for 2010. This includes comprehensive budget allocations for communities accross Delta State for water, health, education and other important areas of development.

The availablity of this budget document allows communities to see what money has been set aside for projects in their areas and to hold the government to account for its spending and implementation.