National Assembly Amends North-West Commission Act, Fails To Confirm Chairman Nominee
The National Assembly has yet to confirm President Bola Tinubu’s nominee for the North West Development Commission (NWDC) which has raised concerns, particularly among stakeholders in Jigawa State.
It will be recalled that Tinubu on September 28, 2024, appointed Ambassador Haruna Ginsau, a diplomat and administrator from Jigawa State, as chairman of the NWDC governing board.
However, the Senate on October 24, 2024, decided to recall and amend the act establishing the NWDC, citing the fact that the Act did not give room for representation from other geopolitical zones.
In a petition to Tinubu, the Northern Youth Ambassador for Peace and Development Initiative (NYAPDI) said it noticed that the Senate in carrying out the amendment removed the clause mandating the “rotational chairmanship” of the commission among member states.
The letter signed by NYAPDI chairman Muhammad Sani read in part, “During the Senate proceedings on October 24, 2024, Article 4 of the act was amended, and the clause, “The office of the Chairman shall rotate amongst the member states of the commission in alphabetical order,” was removed.
The group said that this was an attempt to marginalise Jigawa State, noting that this could pave the way for the chairmanship to be diverted to another state, undermining the trust and confidence of the Jigawa people.
“Any reversal of Ambassador Haruna Ginsau’s appointment would be seen as a disheartening affront to this trust and to our collective contributions to the nation,” the group noted.
It therefore called on the Nigerian government to prioritise fairness, equity, and justice in managing the commission’s affairs, saying that the delay in confirming Ambassador Ginsau’s appointment has brought tensions in the Commission and region.
