THE NATION

The Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) has said its budgeting processes would henceforth be people-friendly as it intends to accommodate inputs and involvement from all relevant community stakeholders.

According to the commission, Niger Delta Governors, traditional rulers, host communities, youth leaders, women groups etc would now make inputs into the NDDC budget and how it is implemented to suit community interests.

Again, the stakeholders would decide which projects they need in the communities as well as monitor same for effective implementation among others.

Acting Director Planning of the NDDC, Mr. Davies Okarevu, made these disclosures in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state at a one-day stakeholders discourse/capacity building workshop organized by the commission.

The theme of workshop is ”Effective budget preparation, implementation and monitoring strategies.”

”It is the vision of the Honourable Minister of the Niger Delta, Interim administrator of the NDDC to bring stakeholders into the budgeting processes because in the past they claimed that they were not part of what was going on.

”The stakeholders complained that projects were not located where they want them to be and that they were not in tune with the programmes of the commission especially when things go wrong.

”So before we go into the budget process we have to carry them along. We want them to understand the essence of the budget because some of them do know know what budgeting is all about.

”We are happy to have first class traditional chiefs, royal majesties, the host communities, the civil society groups, youths and women are here because they make up the society.

”What will change now is that there will more collaboration between the NDDC and the stakeholders. The people and the governors would now have a say in what goes into the budget”, he said.