Nigeria’s Senate has questioned the management of the North West Development Commission (NWDC) over governance failures, delayed appointments and the expenditure of almost ₦943m (£470,000) on board allowances, raising concerns that the agency is failing to fulfil its mandate in one of the country’s most troubled regions.
At an investigative hearing on Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Regional Development challenged officials from the commission and the Federal Ministry of Regional Development over what lawmakers described as persistent administrative lapses that have hindered the agency’s effectiveness since its establishment.
The committee heard that the NWDC remains the only regional development commission without executive directors, despite being among the first to be created under an Act of the National Assembly.
Committee chairman Babangida Hussaini said the prolonged vacancies had weakened the commission’s governance structure and delayed interventions in Nigeria’s north-west, where insecurity, poverty and inadequate infrastructure continue to pose significant challenges.
The minister of state for regional development, Uba Ahmadu, told senators that the ministry had been forced to intervene in a prolonged dispute over the commission’s headquarters in Kano.
According to Ahmadu, the commission initially operated from office spaces donated by private organisations before disagreements emerged over which facility should serve as its permanent headquarters. He said the Kano state government had since provided a fully furnished office complex, operational vehicles and land for the commission.
The ministry, governing board and management jointly assumed control of the new facility last week, he said, while all other offices had been ordered closed in an effort to resolve the dispute.
“The North West Development Commission is the only commission that does not yet have executive directors,” Ahmadu told the committee. “Every other regional commission has its full management structure in place. Something has to be done urgently so that the commission can function effectively.”
He said the absence of executive directors had left the commission with an incomplete leadership structure since the governing board was inaugurated in February 2025, contributing to repeated operational difficulties.
The minister contrasted the situation with those of other regional development commissions, noting that state governments in Enugu, Oyo and Nasarawa had provided office accommodation without similar disputes.
Lawmakers also subjected the commission’s financial records to close scrutiny, expressing concern over delays in convening board meetings, slow implementation of projects and what they described as excessive spending on governance costs.
Hussaini questioned claims that the commission lacked sufficient funding while board members undertook official visits to governors and other stakeholders. He specifically criticised the payment of duty tour allowances to the managing director for an official visit to the governor of Kano, despite the commission’s headquarters being located in the same city, and questioned claims covering air travel, local transport and related expenses.
“The committee was particularly alarmed by documents indicating that out of ₦1.19bn spent by the commission, ₦943m was used for allowances paid to members of the governing board, representing about 79% of the expenditure under the subhead,” Hussaini said.
Several senators described the expenditure as inconsistent with the commission’s development mandate.
Responding to the criticism, the chairman of the governing board, Prof Abdullahi Ma’aji, defended the board’s record, arguing that its activities complied with the provisions of the North West Development Commission Act 2024.
Ma’aji said the board had convened seven meetings—five regular and two emergency sessions—during which it adopted 63 resolutions establishing the commission’s governance and policy framework.
According to him, those resolutions included the approval of standing orders, operational guidelines, committee structures, budget frameworks and principles for distributing resources among the seven north-western states.
He maintained that committee work and sitting allowances constituted legitimate governance expenses under the commission’s enabling legislation.
However, Ma’aji distinguished between approving expenditure and making payments, arguing that while the board authorised governance costs, responsibility for processing payments lay with the commission’s management, including the managing director and finance department.
The board chairman also complained that several board resolutions had not been implemented, citing communication failures and delays in executing key operational decisions that had impeded the commission’s take-off.
Senators insisted that the Federal Ministry of Regional Development bore responsibility for the prolonged failure to complete the commission’s management structure, particularly the appointment of executive directors.
They also voiced concern over delays in staff recruitment and the implementation of the commission’s capital projects, despite budgetary approvals having reportedly been granted months earlier.
The committee later moved into a closed session to consider additional evidence and seek further clarification from officials.
The hearing forms part of the Senate’s oversight of Nigeria’s newly established regional development commissions, which were created to accelerate infrastructure investment, economic recovery and peace-building across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
