Abuja — Despite objections to some of its projected expenditure by many Senators, the N240.553 billion 2010 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) scaled through the Senate crucible yesterday.

The passage of the budget was deferred to yesterday on Wednesday following misgivings over what some Senators described as "bogus overhead and personnel costs" it contained.

The approval by the Senate came on a day the House of Representatives also gave its endorsement to the budget with an increase of about N4 billion over and above the N236.58 billion proposed by the Commission.

In jacking up the budget, the House said the measure was to ensure that the Commission had enough resources to take care of its numerous programmes and projects slated for the 2010 fiscal year.

Details of the budget indicates that N5.860 billion is tied topersonnel expenditure, N6.964 billion for overhead cost, N1.730 billion for internal capital project while N226.03 is allocated to development projects, bringing the total sum to N240.583 billion.

Majority leader of the House, Hon. Tunde Akogun, who led the debate on the general principles of the budget bill explained that the entire proposal was geared towards fast tracking the developmental stride of the oil rich region. In his remark before the passage of the budget, Senate President David Mark said, "We must pass the NDDC budget, bad as it is, before we go on recess otherwise nothing will happen in terms of development in the Niger Delta region until we resume late September".

He said the budget proposal contained issues "that even our conscience will not agree with", adding, "But there are people who will suffer as a result of delayed passage of the NDDC budget". The Senate President who said the "overhead cost, personnel cost are completely unacceptable, " therefore enjoined the Senator James Manager led Committee on NDDC to give an undertaking that the budget will be implemented to the letter.

In his comment, Senator Ndoma-Egba noted that "The overhead of NDDC should give people who are always looking at the National Assembly a food for thought: they should actually turn their attention to the NDDC. However because of the urgency of the developmental challenges in the Niger Delta, we should pass the budget."

After many of them expressed serious misgivings over the figures of the 2010 budget proposals by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Senate yesterday reluctantly passed the Meanwhile the Senate yesterday adjourned plenary session till September 21, thus closing for the session.