President Bola Tinubu’s signing of the legislation creating the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC) into law has been praised by the North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum.
On Tuesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio declared that the law would be signed in the Senate chamber.
As the Senate President announced the measure’s signing, he said, “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 grassroots.”
Days prior, the North-Central APC Forum expressed disapproval of the North-Central region’s omission from the N2.493 trillion allotted to regional development commissions in the planned budget for 2025.
Out of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, the North-Central was the only one without a Development Commission until the President signed the bill into law on Tuesday.
Under the Ministry of Regional Development, the five regional development commissions included in the 2025 budget are the South-South Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the North West Development Commission (NWDC), the South West Development Commission (SWDC), the South East Development Commission (SEDC), and the North East Development Commission (NEDC).
In October 2025, President Bola Tinubu replaced the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with the Ministry of Regional Development.
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.