January 15, (THEWILL) — The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) has dismissed claims that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) operates a ₦246 billion “salaries budget”, describing such assertions as misleading and based on a misunderstanding of Nigeria’s budgeting framework.
In a statement signed on Thursday by Director General Tanimu Yakubu, the BOF clarified that the ₦246.77 billion figure attributed to the NEDC in the 2025 budget is a statutory lump-sum provision presented at an aggregate level, in line with standard procedures for statutory and quasi-statutory agencies under the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
Yakubu explained that temporary classification of allocations under the “Personnel Cost” heading during budget preparation is a technical placeholder used when agencies do not submit detailed internal breakdowns at the point of budget upload. He stressed that this does not reflect actual spending intent.
Regarding capital expenditure, the BOF noted that the ₦2.70 billion cited in some reports reflects National Assembly-approved adjustments to the 2025 budget, with approximately 70 percent of these capital votes rolled into the 2026 fiscal year. The office emphasised that this legislative decision on timing does not indicate a lack of development projects.
Project schedules attached to the budget show multiple ongoing NEDC interventions across the North East, including agricultural support programs, food security initiatives, orphanage construction and rehabilitation, IDP camp reconstruction, borehole installations, security logistics, and constituency-level development projects.
“Personnel costs within a development commission are neither unusual nor improper. They fund engineers, procurement officers, project managers, monitoring and evaluation teams, and fiduciary oversight required to design, supervise, and deliver projects effectively,” Yakubu said.
The BOF reaffirmed that the NEDC operates within strict accountability frameworks, including the MTEF, annual Appropriation Acts, National Assembly oversight, quarterly budget performance reporting, and statutory audits. The office urged the public and commentators to engage responsibly with fiscal information, warning that misinformation undermines genuine accountability.
“The claim that the NEDC exists merely to pay salaries is unfounded. It conflates technical budget presentation with actual expenditure intent, ignores legislative appropriation dynamics, and disregards project-level evidence embedded in official documents,” Yakubu added.
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