•Abubakar Momoh
The Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, today said the sum of N2 billion in the ministry’s proposed budget for 2025 was reserved as zonal intervention (constituency) projects for the Leader of the House of Representatives, Prof Julius Ihonvbere.
Momoh disclosed this while presenting the ministry’s budget proposal before the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Regional Development at the National Assembly, reports Daily Trust.
The minister told the committee that the ministry’s total budget proposal for 2025 was N28.9 billion comprising N24 billion for capital projects; N2.7 billion for personnel cost and N1.6 billion for recurrent.
He however said of the amount, a total sum of N2 billion was reserved as a zonal intervention projects for the Leader of the House of Representatives, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, who hails from Edo State.
The minister lamented that the amount earmarked for the Ministry of Regional Development to address the development needs of the five regional development commissions was inadequate.
He appealed to the joint committee to increase the budget of the ministry to enable it to address the development issues of the regions through the commissions.
The minister lamented that due to inadequate budgetary allocation, the ministry had been facing the challenges of litany of abandoned and uncompleted projects; delay in project completion and poor performance.
