Onwuka Nzeshi 
The move by the current administration to stimulate rapid development across the six geopolitical zones, through the creation of the Ministry of Regional Development, may be scuttled by insufficient budgetary provisions to carry out its mandate.
The Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh disclosed this on Tuesday at an interactive session with the Joint Committee of the Senate and House on Regional Development at the National Assembly, Abuja.
Momoh recalled that whereas the sum of N23.3 billion allocated to the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development in the 2024 budget was considered inadequate to drive development in one region (Niger Delta), only N28.9 billion has been earmarked for the ministry to drive development across the six regions in the 2025 budget.
The Federal Government recently scrapped the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and created the Ministry of Regional Development with a broad mandate to coordinate the activities of the development commissions created for each of the regions.
Momoh lamented that despite the expanded mandate and scope of operations of the new ministry, the budgetary allocation has remained meagre. He urged the members of the joint committee to increase the funding of the new ministry to enhance its capacity to deliver on its mandate.
He said that in the face of meagre budgetary provisions, the Ministry of Regional Development will have no choice but to introduce certain parameters to guide it in the judicious use of the available funds.
Consequently, the minister said, some projects with low levels of completion would be stepped down while priority would also be given to projects which upon completion would have the highest impact on the regions.
The minister pledged that going forward, there would be a reduction of the high incidence of uncompleted and abandoned projects while emphasis would be placed on human capital development, job creation and social protection programmes.
Chairman Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Olajide Ipinsagba, described the transformation of the defunct Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs into the Ministry of Regional Development as a landmark decision that reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable national development.
Ipinsagba said that the creation of the new ministry was a recognition that development must not be restricted to one region alone but should span the length and breadth of the country.
