The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has presented a proposed budget of N1.75 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year to the Senate, as lawmakers announced plans to conduct a physical assessment of projects executed by the commission between 2021 and 2024.

The budget proposal was submitted on Tuesday to the Senate Committee on NDDC by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr. Samuel Ogbuku.

Ogbuku explained that the 2025 budget reflects a nine per cent reduction from the N1.985 trillion proposed and appropriated for the 2024 fiscal year.

He said the proposed budget would be funded through N776.5 billion from the Federal Government, N752.8 billion from oil companies, N109.4 billion as revenue brought forward from 2024, N53.67 billion as recoveries from federal government agencies, and N8.35 billion as internally generated revenue.

According to him, N1.631 trillion of the proposed budget is earmarked for project execution across the Niger Delta region, while N223 billion is allocated for internal project execution. He added that N47.56 billion has been proposed for personnel costs, with N49.929 billion set aside for overhead expenses.

Reviewing the performance of the 2024 budget, Ogbuku told the committee, chaired by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South), that as of October 31, 2025, the commission recorded actual revenue of N1.985 trillion, exceeding the target of N1.911 trillion.

He attributed the improved revenue performance to the extension of the 2024 budget implementation to December 31, 2025.

Following the presentation of both the 2024 budget performance report and the 2025 budget proposal, the committee held a closed-door session with the NDDC management.

Speaking after the meeting, Senator Ekpenyong said the committee resolved to embark on an extensive oversight tour of ongoing and completed NDDC projects across the nine Niger Delta states in January 2026.

He said lawmakers critically reviewed the commission’s projects and agreed on the need for on-the-spot verification to ensure value for money.

“The NDDC has executed many projects in the outgoing fiscal year, and we expect even more impact in the coming year,” Ekpenyong said.

Meanwhile, the committee observed a minute’s silence in honour of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, a former chairman of the committee during the Ninth Senate, who died penultimate week. The gesture followed a motion moved by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North) and seconded by the committee’s Vice Chairman, Senator Patrick Ndubueze (Imo North). (The Nation)