By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has cried out over the exclusion of the North-Central region from the N2.493 trillion allocated to regional development commissions in the 2025 proposed budget.
The North-Central APC Forum, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, in Abuja on Friday, said the absence of a regional development commission for the zone, which has made the region to miss out from the N2.493 trillion budget, amounted to injustice and marginalization.
Among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, only the North-Central is yet to get a regional development commission.
The five regional development commissions are Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for the South-South; North West Development Commission, NWDC, South West Development Commission, SWDC; South East Development Commission, SEDC; and North East Development Commission, NEDC.
The five development commissions are under the Ministry of Regional Development, which was created by President Bola Tinubu in October 2025 to replace the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
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.
Moves by leaders of the North-Central to get a development commission for the zone have not been 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.
A fresh bill seeking the establishment of the North Central Development Commission is currently pending before the National Assembly.
However, in the statement made available to journalists on Friday, the North-Central APC Forum frowned at the “neglect and marginalization of the region”, despite what it described as the massive support enjoyed by the Tinubu-led Federal Government in the geopolitical zone in the 2023 election.
In the statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election, the APC Forum expressed concern that the absence of a development commission for the North-Central, and its exclusion from the N2.4 trillion budget for the regional development commissions, would have a negative impact on the development of the region.
Parts of the statement read, “The North-Central APC Forum is crying out over the shocking exclusion of the North-Central geopolitical zone from the N2.4 trillion allocated to the regional development commissions in the 2025 budget. The N2.4 trillion will fund capital projects and other developmental initiatives in five of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with the exclusion of the North-Central.
“This 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, this is 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.
“The North-Central worked hard to deliver the government and we feel sad and disillusioned that it appears that we are being rewarded with neglect and marginalization.
“Also, it is on record that the North-Central is the first zone to endorse President Bola Tinubu for a second term because we believe in his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The exclusion of the North-Central region from the N2.4 trillion allocated to the other geopolitical zones, through the various regional development commissions, is a huge disappointment to the people of the zone, who believe so much in the APC-led Federal Government.
“Should the North-Central miss out from the budgetary allocations to the regions in the 2025 fiscal year, it would lead to an irrecoverable setback for the growth and development of the region.”
The APC Forum appealed for acceleration of the process for establishment of a development commission for the North-Central. It also made a case for a supplementary budget to capture the region in the 2025 budget.
“The North-Central APC Forum calls for accelerated enactment of the legislation for establishment of the North-Central Development Commission, in time to ensure inclusion of the region in the 2025 budget. We also call for a supplementary budget to fund projects under the anticipated North-Central Development Commission within the 2025 fiscal year, as is the case with other regions.
“No section of the country should be left behind in the quest for development, therefore we demand that the North-Central must not be made to move at a slower pace than other geopolitical zones,” the statement added.
The APC Forum, in the same vein, noted that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, should be at the forefront of the push for the establishment of the North-Central Development Commission, instead of engaging in a power tussle with Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia.
“This is one of the reasons why we have been asking the SGF to carry the entire North-Central along and stand as the leader of the zone. He should leave local politics alone and concentrate on championing the cause of the North-Central.”
The APC Forum equally urged the North-Central Governors Forum, led by Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, to push for the establishment of the North-Central Development Commission.
“The governors of the North-Central states should not be silent on this issue. We expect the North-Central governors to spearhead the push for establishment of a development commission for the region. We urge the governors in the zone to make this objective a priority.”
In the same vein, the North-Central APC appealed for the support of all Nigerians to “right the wrong” done to the geopolitical zone.
