The Budget Office of the Federation has debunked reports alleging that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) is operating a massive ₦246 billion salaries-only budget.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Director General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, described the claims as misleading and factually incorrect.
He attributed the controversy to a poor grasp of the federal government’s technical budgeting procedures.
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Yakubu clarified that the ₦246.77 billion figure often cited is actually a statutory lump-sum provision.
Under the established Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), allocations for statutory bodies are often presented at an aggregate level during the initial stages.
He explained that when agencies do not submit a detailed internal economic breakdown at the point of the budget upload, the system often uses the “personnel cost” heading as a temporary technical placeholder.
“This technical presentation must not be confused with spending intent,” Yakubu warned. “The suggestion that ₦244 billion of this allocation is earmarked solely for personnel costs is factually incorrect.”
Addressing concerns that only ₦2.70 billion was earmarked for development, he explained that this figure was the result of a National Assembly-approved rephrasing.
Approximately 70% of the capital votes from the 2025 budget were rolled over into the 2026 fiscal year.
This was a legislative decision on “timing and sequencing” rather than a lack of commitment to infrastructure.
The ongoing NEDC projects noted in the budget include food security initiatives across the North East, orphanage construction, IDP camp reconstruction, borehole projects, logistics and constituency-level development programmes.
Yakubu further argued that even within the actual personnel budget, the funds are not wasted.
They pay for the engineers, procurement officers, and project managers who are essential for the commission to design and monitor the very projects critics want to see.
“No development institution executes its mandate without institutional capacity,” he added.
He urged public commentators to stop weaponising a lack of understanding of the budget process.
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He emphasised that the NEDC remains subject to strict accountability frameworks, including National Assembly oversight and statutory audits.
“The claim that the NEDC exists merely to pay salaries is unfounded. Selective reading of a single budget line while ignoring accompanying schedules is not analysis—it is a distortion,” he said.
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