By Isreal Adamu, Jos
The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has commended President Bola Tinubu for signing into law the bill establishing the North-Central Development Commission, NCDC.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the signing of the bill in the Senate chamber on Tuesday.
“Let me also inform my colleagues that Mr. President has also assented to North-Central Development Commission establishment bill 2024, in order to bring development to the grassroot,” the Senate President said while announcing the signing of the bill.
The development is coming days after the North-Central APC Forum cried out over the exclusion of the North-Central region from the N2.493 trillion allocated to regional development commissions in the 2025 proposed budget.
Before the President signed the North-Central Development Commission bill into law on Tuesday, the North-Central was the only zone among Nigeria’s six geo-political zones that had no Development Commission.
The five regional development commissions captured in the 2025 budget, under the Ministry of Regional Development, are Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for the South-South; North West Development Commission, NWDC, South West Development Commission, SWDC; South East Development Commission, SEDC; and North East Development Commission, NEDC.
The Ministry of Regional Development was created by President Bola Tinubu in October 2025 to replace the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
A breakdown of the N2.4 trillion budget for the Ministry of Regional Development, according to allocations to the five development commissions, is as follows: Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, N776.53 billion; North West Development Commission, NWDC, N585.93 billion; South West Development Commission, SWDC, N498.40 billion; South East Development Commission, SEDC, N341.27 billion, and North East Development Commission, NEDC, N291 billion.
It is expected that the President will send a supplementary budget to the National Assembly in order to capture the newly created North-Central Development Commission, NCDC, in the 2025 budget.
Reacting to the establishment of the North-Central Development Commission on Tuesday, the North-Central APC Forum, in a statement by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC presidential campaign council during the 2023 election, described Tinubu as a “listening President”.
“The North-Central APC Forum commends President Bola Tinubu for signing into law the bill establishing the North-Central Development Commission, NCDC.
“The President’s action shows that he is a listening President. He has listened to the cries of the North-Central APC Forum which has been agitating for the creation of a Development Commission for the North-Central, as had been done for the other geo-political zones – for the sake of equity and justice.
“Just a few days ago, we cried out that the exclusion of the North-Central in the N2.493 trillion allocated to regional development commissions in the proposed 2025 budget amounted to injustice and marginalization.
“We cried out that such injustice is unacceptable to the people of the North-Central, who deserve to be treated as equals to other Nigerians, rather than being subjected to marginalization and neglect.
“For us in the North-Central APC Forum, the exclusion was even more worrisome because in the last election, after the South-West, the North-Central is second in terms of general acceptability of President Bola Tinubu.
“Today we feel that we have been vindicated for giving our support to President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 election. He has listened to our cries,” parts of the statement said.
The North-Central APC Forum, in the statement, added that the President’s action had justified the zone’s confidence in him, which prompted the Forum to endorse him for a second term.
“The establishment of the North-Central Development Commission will ensure accelerated development of the region. It will also ensure that the North-Central does not lag behind other regions in terms of development.
“We also commend members of the National Assembly and other stakeholders, including leaders of the North-Central, who played different roles towards the establishment of a Development Commission for the region.
“We equally call on all the people of the North-Central to support this noble initiative in any way they can, to ensure that the Commission works for the development of the region.”
The APC Forum, in the same vein, called for a supplementary budget to fund projects under the North-Central Development Commission within the 2025 fiscal year, as is the case with other regions.
Before now, moves by leaders of the North-Central to get a development commission for the zone were not successful.
A bill for the establishment of the North-Central Development Commission passed first and second readings but could not get presidential assent before the expiration of the 9th Senate with the end of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
