What will they eat when they finish the money? By Azu Ishiekwene

The sedate is ne'er satisfied, but different things compete with it for insatiability. I can’t assistance feeling that immoderate members of Nigeria’s National Assembly volition vie for the apical spot of ne'er capable with the grave, h2o and fire. Enough is simply a alien to them. What happens successful these chambers successful Abuja, successful the sanction of the people, lone God knows. 

That’s not to suggest that different arms of authorities are importantly better. But erstwhile we scope the constituent wherever we person to determine whose greed is eating america more, past we’re successful trouble. 

Last week, the Senate Committee connected the North-Central Development Commission, NCDC, said it had approved N140 cardinal for the committee successful the 2025 fiscal year, which has 3 months remaining.

Yielding to overcome

The commission, which couldn’t hold to beryllium calved successful February, evidently cannot besides hold to get its ain stock of the nationalist cake. Coming aft the constitution of improvement commissions successful the North-East and North-West, and good up of the committedness of akin commissions successful 3 different regions, the NCDC is enjoying the payment of copying each the atrocious habits of the existing ones and mounting a higher modular of crookedness for others to follow.

And successful the “rub-my-back-I-rub-yours” authorities of the National Assembly, the absorption of the NCDC tin number connected Abuja politicians for help. That explains wherefore the Senate Committee approved N140 cardinal with the charm of a smitten lover. 

“After a cautious look astatine the issues contained successful the budget,” the committee chairman, Titus Zam (from Benue State) said, “and the eloquent presumption by the MD and his team, the committee has approved the fund of N140 cardinal arsenic presented by the commission.” 

Devil successful the detail

According to the property reports, the fund has present been forwarded to the House committee. Still, we bash not person the details of the MD’s “eloquent presentation.” We are besides not told of the grade of scrutiny by the Senate committee – lone that the committee was truthful impressed it whitethorn good person approved the N140 cardinal for 3 months blindfolded.

But the details provided successful the LEADERSHIP study of Friday, October 3, seizure the elephant successful the room. It gives details of the three-month budget, with an imprint each implicit of the benignant of concession typically made erstwhile parties are successful an overwhelmingly delicate presumption down closed doors. 

According to LEADERSHIP’s report, the committee volition person N10 cardinal for cars, N9 cardinal for travels, and N1.2 cardinal for telephone calls, isolated from its assertion to walk N6 cardinal connected unnamed “humanitarian projects.” 

The percent of superior expenditure to the full fund is 41.6 percent, with recurrent spending accounting for 58.3 percent. Nearly 8 percent of the full fund is for question to the satellite and back.

 Chasing shadows

It’s imaginable to reason that the existent enforcement of the NCDC did not hole this scandalous budget; that it was portion of the 2025 fund prepared by the Executive earlier the inauguration of the board, and passed by the National Assembly. 

In different words, the Executive laid the instauration for this monstrosity by voting billions of naira successful beforehand for a non-existent committee based connected estimates. What the enforcement whitethorn person done was to region N5.6 cardinal from the appropriation of the North West Development Commission (NWDC), which had a ballot of N145.6 cardinal and assigned the equilibrium to the NCDC, with small oregon zero beingness of caput to size (there are 7 states successful the North-West compared with six successful the North-Central), oregon colonisation (the North- West, by immoderate estimates is doubly the colonisation of the North Central). The assemblage is retired connected which of the 2 zones has been much severely impacted by insurgency.

If it has taken the committee 9 months aft it was formed to get a board, and with lone 3 months to the extremity of this year, wherefore railroad the commission’s fund erstwhile it would besides beryllium appropriated for successful the 2026 budget? 

Just walk it!

If the Senate committee is genuinely funny successful oversight and thing else, wherefore not reappraisal the budget, arsenic it has lone a fewer months near of its lifecycle, and fto the caller committee marque and support its consequent petition successful the 2026 budget?

This eloquent ungraded was not a mistake. It was intentional, with immoderate assistance f...