North Central Development Commission: Befitting End To Years Of Neglect
By Yahaya Kana Ismaila
Sometime last year, in a moment of deep frustration, I took to social media to lament what I saw as a clear injustice—the President’s refusal to sign the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) bill into law, despite graciously approving similar bills for other regional development commissions. My argument was simple: if the Northeast, Niger Delta, North West and South East could have dedicated interventionist bodies, why should the North Central be left out?
In that post, I threw a challenge to our legislators, governors, and every stakeholder from the region. I urged them to leave no stone unturned in ensuring the bill was not relegated to the archives of forgotten legislative efforts. It was a rallying cry for action—a call to defend the North Central’s rightful place in Nigeria’s development trajectory.
Two weeks ago, the long-awaited good news arrived. The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, announced during plenary that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had assented to the NCDC bill. The announcement was met with widespread celebration across the region. Commendations poured in, not only for the President but also for key figures like Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) and Hon. Jeremiah J. Umaru, the House of Representatives member representing the good people of Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/Wamba, Federal Constituency. The president, for signing the bill into law and the duo of Abba Moro and Jeremiah Umaru for co-sponsoring the bill.
For decades, the North Central region has been Nigeria’s bastion of excellence—a land of many opportunities waiting to be harnessed. In a lecture some 16 years ago, Onoja Adoyi, now a professor of history at the Nasarawa state university Keffi, referred to the region as “Nigeria’s region of opportunity,” highlighting its agricultural richness, mineral wealth, and human resource potential.
The region’s agricultural viability is unparalleled. Despite years of violent farmer-herder conflicts, the North Central remains a food basket for the nation. According to Onoja, the region’s climatic diversity allows for the cultivation of virtually every type of crop, from cereals and tubers to cash crops like cashew and sesame. Prof Onoja’s commentary on a region then, that was Nigeria’s most peaceful. However, inadequate funding, insecurity, and poor infrastructure have kept the region’s agricultural potential largely untapped.
Beyond agriculture, the region is a goldmine of mineral resources. Nasarawa State, for instance, is fast becoming Africa’s capital for energy minerals, attracting significant foreign direct investment in lithium and tantalite processing. Kogi State boasts one of the largest iron ore deposits in Africa with the Ajaokuta Steel Company still a towering beacon of Nigeria’s industrialisation drive, while Benue is rich in limestone and cement production materials. Yet, these resources have contributed little to the region’s development due to the absence of structured intervention and investment in critical infrastructure.
It is quite disheartening that despite the immense contributions of the region to national development, the North Central has remained on the fringes of meaningful progress. Unlike other regions with dedicated interventionist commissions, the North Central has had to rely on federal allocations that barely address its peculiar challenges. The Northeast has the North East Development Commission (NEDC) to tackle the devastating effects of Boko Haram insurgency. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established to address environmental degradation and underdevelopment in the oil-rich region. Even the proposed South East Development Commission (SEDC) aims to reconstruct the region following years of secessionist agitations that have left the regions devastated. The Northwest and Southwest all have regional commissions to tackle peculiar challenges. So, it was only fair that the North Central also gets in on the act.
It must be said that the North Central has suffered in silence for too long. The region has faced persistent insecurity, banditry, and communal clashes, yet no dedicated commission existed to address these crises. The signing of the NCDC bill into law is, therefore, not just a political victory—it is a historic moment of justice for a long-overlooked region.
Sadly, the excitement of the NCDC bill’s passage was almost overshadowed by a curious political maneuver. The Senate Leader, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi (APC, Ekiti Central), while presenting a bill for some much needed reviews to all the newly established regional intervention bodies, attempted to relocate the headquarters of the commission from Lafia, Nasarawa State, to Minna, Niger State. That move, however, fell flat or so it appears. It is my understanding that it was met with stiff resistance, not just from Nasarawa but from stakeholders across the region who saw it for what it was—a desperate Mickey Mouse effort. It is worth noting that among the six states in the North Central, Nasarawa has the least presence of federal agencies. Placing the NCDC headquarters in Lafia was, therefore, a strategic, just and fair decision, one that regional legislators did not oppose when the bill was initially passed and transmitted.
One wonders why Senator Bamidele, who represents a South West constituency far removed from the North Central, took it upon himself to challenge initiate this puzzling intervention which could best be described as “crying more than the bereaved.” We must take this rather curious play as a warning. There’s a need for leaders of the region to remain vigilant and proactive in defending the region’s interests from all manner of meddlesome interlopers.
Now that NCDC has been legally established, the next battle is its implementation. It is not enough to have a commission on paper; the real work begins in ensuring that it delivers tangible results for the people of the region. This is why the recent review to straighten clauses of the NCDC bill that are in variance with the constitution has been hailed. Hopefully, this review, when concurred by the House of Representative and signed into law by the president will position NCDC as well as others to draw funding from the 2025 budget.
I reckon, the first critical step when this happens is leadership. The President must ensure that only individuals with impeccable character, competence, and a clear vision for the region are appointed to pilot the affairs of the NCDC. The North Central cannot afford a commission riddled with corruption, mismanagement, and inefficiency. We must make this commission work for our people.
There must also be a clearly defined roadmap for the commission’s intervention. Priority areas should include security and peacebuilding to address banditry, communal clashes, and farmer-herder conflicts through strategic interventions. Infrastructure development must be prioritised, with investments in roads, bridges, and rural electrification projects to connect the region’s vast agricultural and mining hubs. An agricultural revolution is needed, providing farmers with modern tools, irrigation systems, and access to markets to boost productivity. Mineral resource optimisation must ensure that the region benefits from its vast mineral wealth through value addition and local processing. Education and human capital development should be a key focus, with the establishment of technical and vocational training centres to equip the region’s youth with relevant skills.
The North Central’s political and traditional leaders must take ownership of this commission. They must work collectively to ensure that the NCDC does not become another white elephant project but a real engine for regional transformation. The signing of the NCDC bill is a testament to the power of collective advocacy and political determination. Let us also make it into a victory not just for politicians but for the millions of people across the region who have long yearned for structured development.
The real battle is ahead. Our biggest challenge lies in translating this legal framework into meaningful action. If properly implemented, the NCDC could be the catalyst that finally propels the North Central into the economic powerhouse it was always meant to be. For now, we celebrate. But we must also remain watchful. Our region, the largest hub of ethnic minorities in Nigeria has waited long enough for this moment—We cannot afford to let it slip through bureaucratic inefficiency or political maneuvering. We have all it takes to make it work. Therefore, let us make the NCDC a model regional intervention commission. We can do it. It’s development o’clock!
Yahaya writes from Kana of Nassarawa LGA in Nasarawa state and can be reached on: kanaismail@yahoo.com
