Senate confirms Tinubu’s nominees for South-East, North-West dev’t commissions

The Senate has confirmed President Bola Tinubu’s nominees for the newly established North-West Developments Commission (NWDC) and the South-East Development Commission (SEDC).

All nominees for the Governing Boards of SEDC and NWDC were confirmed on Monday after being screened by the Senate.

The confirmation came after Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, who heads the Senate’s ad hoc committee on regional developments, presented a report on Tuesday.

Kalu confirmed that the nominees satisfied all the required conditions during their screening.

Meanwhile, a mild drama unfolded when some Senators attempted to invoke Order 1(b) to suspend the confirmation process for further consultations.

However, the effort was unsuccessful, and the Senate proceeded to consider the report, ultimately approving all nominees for both Commissions.

The apex lawmaking body confirmed a total of 32 nominees for the two commissions: 14 for the NWDC and 18 for the SEDC.

Alhaji Lawal Samai’la Abdullahi was confirmed as the chairman of the NWDC, with Prof. Abdullahi Shehu Ma’aji appointed as the chief executive officer.

Other confirmed members include; Dr. Yahaya Umar Namahe, Hon. Aminu Suleiman, Ja’afar Abubakar Sadeeq, Yahaya Aminu Abdullahi, Engr Muhammad Ali Wudil, Shamsu Sule, Nasidi Ali, Chukwu Chijtoke, Ahmed Mohammed, Engr. Ahmed Rufai Timasantyu, Macdonalds Michael Uyi And Mr. Babatunde Dada.

Also, Dr. Emeka Nworgu was confirmed as the chairman of the SEDC, while Mr. Mark Okoye was confirmed as the Managing Director.

Other nominees include Ugochukwu Agballah, Okey Izenwa, Hyacinth Ikpor, Chidi Echeazu, Ifeanyi Agwu, Nasiru Usman, Hamma Adama, Ali Kumo, Edward David Onoja, Orure Kufre Inima, Daniel Akwari, Joke Adebayo-Chukwuma, Stanley Ohajuruka, Sylvester Okonkwo, Toby Okechukwu, Anthony Agbo and Clifford Ogbede.

Persecondnews recalls that President Tinubu established the NWDC and SEDC on July 24, 2024, after signing the bills into law.

The NWDC is set up to facilitate the reconstruction of roads, houses, and business premises destroyed by multidimensional crisis, as well as tackle poverty, literacy level, ecological problems, and any other related environmental or development challenges in North-West states.

In addition, the SEDC is established to ensure the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, and other infrastructural damages suffered by the zone, as well as tackle ecological problems, and other related environmental or developmental challenges in South-East states.

The president on December 6, 2024, submitted a revised list of nominees for the NWDC and SEDC to the Senate for confirmation.

In the updated nominations, Alhaji Lawal Samai’la Abdullahi was named Chairman of the NWDC, replacing Amb. Haruna Ginsau from the initial list.