Governors from the North Central geopolitical zone have met with members of the region’s National Assembly caucus to strategize on the effective implementation of the newly established North Central Development Commission, NCDC.
The meeting, convened by the Chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum and Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Tuesday.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Sule on Media, Ali Abare, said as the first gathering of its kind, the session brought together governors and lawmakers from the North Central region to deliberate on the commission’s roadmap and ensure a smooth takeoff, while avoiding pitfalls experienced by similar commissions in other parts of the country.
In attendance at the meeting were Governors of Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi and Kwara States, as well as National Assembly members from across the region.
Speaking at the meeting, Sule emphasized that the NCDC should not be seen solely as a response to security challenges, as was the case with other regional development commissions.
He rather described it as a vehicle for genuine transformation and infrastructural advancement across all North Central states.
“There is a general perception that development commissions are established mainly to address security concerns, as seen with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which was created due to pipeline vandalism, and the North East Development Commission (NEDC), which emerged in response to Boko Haram insurgency,” he explained.
“Ours, however, is a development commission. It is for the development of the entire North Central—every state, not just select parts. We must ensure that we do things right so that the whole region benefits,” he added.
Sule stressed the importance of learning from the challenges faced by other development commissions. He cautioned against internal conflicts over control of the NCDC, warning that power struggles between governors, legislators, and ministers could derail its objectives.
“The advantage of being the last to establish a regional development commission is that we can learn from past mistakes and avoid them. One of those mistakes is internal power struggles. If we start agitating over control, we will lose focus. The key is to work collectively,” he stated.
He called for unity and synergy between governors and federal lawmakers to ensure that every state in the North Central feels represented and has a stake in the commission’s operations.
Sule also highlighted the need for consensus on nominations for the NCDC leadership, urging governors and lawmakers to present a joint list rather than competing submissions.
“The governors and National Assembly members must work as one. We should agree on a unified list of nominees instead of submitting conflicting names. That is one of the reasons for this meeting—to ensure we are on the same page,” he said.
He urged National Assembly members to ensure that the NCDC is captured in the 2025 budget, stressing that proper funding is critical to its success.
He said that, as leaders of the region, they have seen what transpired in similar development commissions established across the country, adding that the meeting became necessary in order to try to avoid the mistakes recorded in other zones.
Sule said the meeting also provides an avenue to address issues that may crop up, particularly the agitation for the control of the NCDC which if left unchecked may spell doom for the take-off of the commission.
“The good thing about us being the last, the advantage that we are seeing, the mistakes that had occurred in other places, we should do everything to avoid those mistakes. One of those mistakes is for us to start agitating between the governors and members of the National Assembly or ministers over the control of the NCDC. If we do that, we miss the road. The whole idea is that we are doing it collectively,” he said.
He therefore called for synergy and cooperation between the governors and national assembly members from the North Central so that, at the end of the day, every state would have a sense of belonging at the NCDC.
Also speaking, Senator Dachung Gyang Pam, PDP, Jos North, said stakeholders from the region must work together because of the magnitude and significance of the NCDC.
Also commenting, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, APC, Wase Federal Constituency, called for similar meetings going forward, stressing that such meetings would guide stakeholders better understood what needs to be done as a region.
