Reports that the North East Development Commission, or NEDC, has a N246 billion salary budget have been refuted by the Federation’s Budget Office.
According to the Budget Office, the assertion is false and stems from a misinterpretation of federal budget arrangements.
Tanimu Yakubu, Director General of the Budget Office, clarified in a statement on Thursday that the N246.77 billion allotted for the NEDC in the federal budget is not just for employee wages.
Rather, he stated that it is a statutory lump-sum allocation that is given in aggregate form in accordance with regular budgetary procedures.
Yakubu emphasized that assertions that the NEDC functions solely to pay salaries are baseless since they disregard project-level funding and confuse technical budget presentation with actual spending.
He pointed out that statutory agencies frequently receive bulk allocations under the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, or MTEF, which are then specified through budget execution and legislative approval.
Allocations may appear briefly under personnel costs when agencies fail to submit full economic breakdowns during budget preparation.
“The suggestion that N244 billion is earmarked solely for personnel costs is factually incorrect,” Yakubu clarified.Spending intent should not be confused with its technical presentation.
Regarding capital expenditures, he highlighted that the N2.70 billion mentioned by detractors does not indicate the lack of development projects; rather, it represents a legislative choice to move a portion of the 2025 budget to 2026.
Yakubu emphasized ongoing projects such as security logistics, borehole projects, rehabilitation of orphanages, reconstruction of IDP camps, agricultural assistance, food security programs, and constituency-based interventions.
The importance of labor expenses in facilitating efficient project delivery was another point he made.
“They provide funding for the engineers, procurement officers, project managers, monitoring and evaluation teams, and fiduciary oversight needed to properly plan, oversee, and complete projects.”
Yakubu reminded the public that the NEDC is subject to a number of accountability procedures, such as statutory audits, MTEF, annual Appropriations Acts, National Assembly supervision, and quarterly performance reports.
In closing, he welcomed critical examination but cautioned against disseminating false information, saying that it is inaccurate to depict the NEDC as an organization created only to pay wages.
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