A total of N1.52 trillion has been approved by the government for the six newly created regional commissions as budget for 2025. The Budget was just recently passed by the president and was initially proposed at N49.7 trillion. However, upon the request of the president, the National Assembly approved an upward review to N54.99 trillion after additional revenue from government-owned agencies.
In October 2024, President Bola Tinubu established the Ministry of Regional Development to oversee all regional commissions, replacing the Niger Delta Development Ministry. However, this restructuring of the MDAs sparked concerns regarding allocation and cutting the cost of governance in the country. Also, there were concerns about the capacity of these commissions to deliver the critical development needed in their respective regions.
The newly created commissions are the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North West Development Commission (NWDC), South West Development Commission (SWDC) and the South East Development Commission (SEDC) and the North Central Development Commission.
Proposed Budget for the Commission
According to the proposed budget, a total of N2.50 trillion was allocated to five commissions for 2025. However, NEDC would spend N6.59 billion out of the total allocation to carry out capital projects.
These projects are the Multilateral/Bilateral Tied Loan—Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Programme (Mcrp) Lake Chad Recovery And Development Project Additional Financing (Mcrp – Prolac Af) for N3.59 billion and the ongoing Multilateral/Bilateral Tied Loan – Inclusive Basic Service Delivery And Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme (Ibsleip) estimated at N3 billion. These projects are expected to be coordinated by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Meanwhile, RipplesMetrics checks in the 2025 proposed budget revealed that most of the allocations made to the regional commissions for 2025 are primarily for personal costs with little capital projects to be carried out. The budget proposal breakdown revealed that the NDDC leads with a full allocation of N776.5 billion for salaries.
The NWDC follows this with N585.9 billion and the SWDC at N498.4 billion. Meanwhile, the SEDC has set aside N341.3 billion, and the NEDC has allocated N290.9 billion for salaries.
Approved Budget
Upon approval, RipplesMetrics discovered that the initially proposed budget of N2.53 trillion was reduced by 40% to N1.52 trillion. Despite this reduction, the budget remains among the top 10 largest allocations for MDAs in the country. Additionally, unlike the proposed budget, which did not include funding for the North Central Commission, the approved budget made provisions for it.
As it stands, the ministry’s headquarters received an allocation of N29.72 billion, the NEDC was allocated N300.91 billion, the NDDC received N626.53 billion, and the South West, South East, and North Central each received N1,400 billion. The NWDC was allocated N145.61 billion for the 2025 budget.
Out of these seven approvals, only the commission’s headquarters and the North-East Commission have outlined their capital and overhead costs. This means the remaining commissions will spend their allocations solely on covering salaries.
Budget trend for Niger Delta
Prior to the recent announcement of the creation of regional commissions, the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta managed the Niger Delta Commission, which was responsible for driving development in the oil-producing region.
RipplesMetrics findings reveal that between 2021 and 2025, the Ministry of Niger Delta received a total allocation of N1.3 trillion from the Nigerian government. However, concerns persist over how these funds have been utilized, given the underdevelopment in several oil-producing communities.
In 2021, the ministry was allocated N87.85 billion in its approved budget. This amount increased to N123.41 billion in 2022 and N128.23 billion in 2023. For the 2024 approved budget, the allocation rose significantly to N348.18 billion, with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) receiving the largest portion—N324.84 billion—primarily to cover workers’ salaries. In the newly signed 2025 budget, NDDC would receive N626.53 billion for salaries payment.
By: James Odunayo
Source: Ripples
