Senate grills NWDC over N943m board allowances, appointments

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The Senate Committee on Regional Development on Tuesday queried the operations of the North West Development Commission over the delayed appointment of executive directors, alleged governance challenges and the expenditure of about N943m on board allowances.

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At an investigative session with officials of the commission and the Federal Ministry of Regional Development, lawmakers questioned why the NWDC remains the only regional development commission without executive directors, despite being among the first to be established under an Act of the National Assembly.

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The Committee Chairman, Senator Babangida Hussaini. also scrutinised the commission’s financial records, governance structure and implementation of its mandate, warning that administrative lapses were slowing development interventions in the North-West, a region grappling with insecurity and infrastructure deficits.

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Appearing before the committee, the Minister of State for Regional Development, Alhaji Uba Ahmadu, disclosed that the ministry had intervened in the lingering dispute over the commission’s office accommodation in Kano.

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He explained that the NWDC initially operated from office spaces donated by private organisations, but disagreements over which facility should serve as its headquarters created friction between the governing board and management.

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According to the minister, the Kano State Government has now provided a fully furnished office complex, operational vehicles and a plot of land for the commission.

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He said the ministry, board and management jointly took over the facility last week and directed that all other offices be shut to bring the dispute to an end.

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“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,” the minister told the committee.

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Ahmadu said the absence of executive directors had weakened the commission’s management structure and contributed to its operational challenges since inauguration.

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He noted that although the governing board was inaugurated in February 2025 to fast-track the take-off of the commission, it had continued to grapple with one crisis after another.

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The minister also compared the situation with those of other regional commissions, noting that the governments of Enugu, Oyo and Nasarawa states had provided office accommodation for their respective commissions without controversy.

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He expressed optimism that the latest intervention by the Kano State Government would finally resolve the headquarters dispute.

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During the hearing, senators raised concerns over delays in convening board meetings, the commission’s financial management and what they described as excessive spending on board-related allowances.

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Some lawmakers questioned how the board could claim it lacked adequate funding while embarking on official visits to governors and other stakeholders.

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Hussaini faulted the payment of duty tour allowance to the Managing Director for a visit to the Governor of Kano State, despite the commission’s headquarters being located in Kano, querying the inclusion of air tickets, local transportation and other logistics in the claim.

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He said, “The committee was particularly alarmed by documents indicating that out of N1.19bn spent by the commission, N943m was used for allowances paid to members of the governing board, representing about 79 per cent of the expenditure under the subhead.”

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Lawmakers described the figure as disturbing and inconsistent with the objective of establishing the commission to drive development across the North-West.

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Responding, the Chairman of the Governing Board, Prof. Abdullahi Ma’aji, defended the board’s activities, insisting they were in line with the provisions of the North West Development Commission Act, 2024.

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He said, “The board had held seven meetings—five regular and two emergency sessions—during which it adopted 63 resolutions aimed at establishing the commission’s institutional and policy framework.”

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According to him, the board approved standing orders, operational guidelines, committee structures, budget frameworks and principles for allocating funds among the seven North-West states.

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Ma’aji maintained that committee activities and sitting allowances constituted legitimate governance expenses under the enabling Act.

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He, however, distinguished between approving expenditures and disbursing funds, saying while the board authorised governance expenses, responsibility for processing payments rested with the commission’s management, particularly the Managing Director and finance department.

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The board chairman also complained about what he described as the non-implementation of board resolutions, communication gaps and delays in executing key operational decisions, which he said had hampered the smooth take-off of the commission.

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Several senators insisted that the ministry must take responsibility for the failure to complete the commission’s management structure, particularly the appointment of executive directors.

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They argued that the prolonged vacancies had undermined the effectiveness of the NWDC at a time when the North-West urgently requires coordinated development interventions to tackle insecurity and other socio-economic challenges.

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Lawmakers also expressed concern over delays in staff recruitment and implementation of the commission’s capital budget, despite approvals reportedly granted since February.

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At the end of the public session, the committee resolved to proceed into a closed-door executive session to consider sensitive issues and obtain further clarifications from the officials.

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The hearing forms part of the Senate’s ongoing oversight of the newly established regional development commissions, which were created to accelerate infrastructure development, economic recovery and peace-building across the country’s six geo-political zones.

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