APC Forum hails Tinubu for creating North-Central Development Commission

Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime sharing; follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates. Click to Follow us

The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has praised President Bola Tinubu for signing legislation establishing the North-Central Development Commission, NCDC.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the bill’s signing 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 comes only days after the North-Central APC Forum expressed concern about the North-Central region’s absence from the N2.493 trillion allocated to regional development commissions in the proposed budget for 2025.

Prior to the President signing the North-Central Development Commission bill into law on Tuesday, the North-Central zone was the only one of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones without a Development Commission.

The five regional development commissions included in the 2025 budget, under the Ministry of Regional Development, are the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), for the South East Development Commission, SEDC; North East Development Commission, NEDC; South West Development Commission, NWDC; and South West Development Commission, SWDC, for the South-South zone.

The Ministry of Regional Development was established by President Bola Tinubu in October 2025 to replace the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

The N2.4 trillion budget for the Ministry of Regional Development is broken down into allocations to the five development commissioners, 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 anticipated that the President will submit a supplementary budget to the National Assembly in order to include the newly established North-Central Development Commission, NCDC, in the 2025 budget.

The North-Central APC Forum, in a statement issued by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC presidential campaign council during the 2023 election, hailed Tinubu as a “listening President” in response to the establishment of the North-Central Development Commission on Tuesday.

“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 said in a statement that the President’s actions had justified the zone’s trust in him, prompting the Forum to support 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.”

In the same spirit, the APC Forum has proposed for a supplementary budget to fund North-Central Development Commission projects in the fiscal year 2025, as has been done in other regions.

Previously, North-Central leaders’ efforts to establish a development commission for the zone were unsuccessful.

A measure establishing the North-Central Development Commission passed first and second readings but failed to receive presidential approval before the 9th Senate expired with the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.