Senate Questions North West Development Commission Over N943m Board Allowances and Missing Executive Directors
By Victor Idajili
The Senate Committee on Regional Development on Tuesday grilled officials of the North West Development Commission over delayed appointments, governance issues, and the spending of about N943 million on board allowances.
The session, held with the Commission and the Federal Ministry of Regional Development, focused on why NWDC remains the only regional commission without executive directors, despite being one of the first established by an Act of the National Assembly.
Committee Chairman, Sen. Babangida Hussaini, said the administrative gaps were slowing down development work in the North-West, a region already dealing with insecurity and poor infrastructure.
Minister of State for Regional Development, Alhaji Uba Ahmadu, told the committee that the ministry had stepped in to resolve a fight over the Commission’s office in Kano.
According to him, NWDC started in donated office spaces, but disagreements between the board and management over the headquarters created friction.
He said the Kano State Government has now provided a fully furnished office complex, operational vehicles and land. The ministry, board and management took over the facility last week and ordered all other offices closed.
“The North West Development Commission is the only commission that does not yet have executive directors. Every other regional commission has its full management structure in place. Something has to be done urgently so that the commission can function effectively,” Ahmadu said.
He added that the board was inaugurated in February 2025 to speed up operations, but the Commission has faced one crisis after another. He compared this with Enugu, Oyo and Nasarawa, where state governments provided office accommodation without controversy.
Senators raised red flags over the Commission’s finances. They questioned delays in board meetings, poor financial management, and what they called excessive spending on board-related allowances.
Hussaini pointed to documents showing that out of N1.19 billion spent by the Commission, N943 million— about 79% — went to allowances for governing board members.
He also faulted claims of duty tour allowance paid to the Managing Director for visiting the Kano governor, even though the Commission’s headquarters is in Kano. Air tickets, local transport and other logistics were included in the claim.
“Lawmakers described the figure as disturbing and inconsistent with the purpose for which the commission was set up to drive development in the North-West,” Hussaini said.
Responding, Board Chairman Prof. Abdullahi Ma’aji said the board’s activities followed the North West Development Commission Act, 2024.
He stated that the board held 7 meetings — 5 regular and 2 emergency — and passed 63 resolutions to set up the Commission’s structure. These included standing orders, operational guidelines, committees, budget frameworks and a formula for sharing funds among the 7 North-West states.
Ma’aji said sitting allowances and committee expenses are legitimate under the Act.
He also drew a line between approval and payment, saying the board authorizes spending while the management and finance department process payments.
He further complained about non-implementation of board resolutions, poor communication, and delays in executing decisions, which he said had slowed the Commission’s take-off.
Several senators said the ministry must be held responsible for failing to appoint executive directors. They argued that the vacancies have weakened NWDC at a time the North-West urgently needs coordinated development to tackle insecurity and economic challenges.
Lawmakers also expressed concern over delays in staff recruitment and implementation of the capital budget, even though approvals were given since February.
At the end of the public hearing, the committee moved into a closed-door session for further clarifications.
