The Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) has refuted claims that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) operates a N246.77 billion salaries budget, describing such reports as misleading and inaccurate.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by Director-General Tanimu Yakubu, the BOF explained that the N246.77 billion assigned to the NEDC is a consolidated statutory provision presented at an aggregate level under the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and does not represent personnel costs alone.
“The assertion that the NEDC budget is solely for salaries is incorrect and reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the Federal Government’s budgeting framework,” the statement read. It added that during budget preparation, preliminary figures may temporarily appear under personnel headings as technical placeholders.
The office also clarified that the N2.70 billion capital expenditure cited in some reports resulted from a National Assembly decision to defer about 70 percent of capital votes to the 2026 fiscal year. The BOF emphasized that this adjustment does not indicate a lack of projects and that the NEDC continues to implement development interventions across the North East.
The statement highlighted that personnel costs are necessary to fund engineers, project managers, procurement officers, monitoring and evaluation teams, and other staff required to execute development projects effectively.
Yakubu’s office reaffirmed that the NEDC is subject to accountability mechanisms, including the MTEF, annual Appropriation Acts, National Assembly oversight, quarterly performance reports, and statutory audits. The BOF urged the public and commentators to engage fiscal information responsibly, warning that misinformation undermines accountability and misrepresents the government’s budget process.
