NIGER DELTA: PRIORITISE PROJECTS FOR EARLY COMPLETION; House of Reps Committee Urges Niger Delta Ministry.

PASTOR USANI UGURU USANI

In order to ensure speedy completion of its projects, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has been urged to give priority to its projects that could be funded with the 2016 budget and the proposed 2017 Appropriation.

This was the advice by the House of Representative Committee on Niger Delta during the defense of its 2017 Budget and the implementation of the 2016 budget also as the Committee stated that only if such advice is heeded that the projects could be inaugurated.

Speaking during the Budget defense, the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani disclosed that, out of the #19.4 billion Naira and #727.2 million appropriated to the Ministry for capital and overhead expenditures in 2016, only the sum of N8.1 billion of the Capital Appropriation has been so far released, while the sum of N525,569,190.94 was released as overhead expenditures.

Pastor Usani also stated that the total budgetary proposal of the Ministry in year 2017 is N35, 501,382,365.00 while the personnel cost was put at N1, 081,793,241, N727, 081,124.00 for overhead and N33, 692,500,000.00 for capital projects.

“For the Ministry to successfully complete all its projects between now and 2018, we need far in excess of the 131 billion Naira we earlier requested, because on daily basis, there are recurrent issues of financial demands, coupled with inflation rate”, the Minister stated.