The senate committee on regional development has launched a probe into the operations of the North West Development Commission (NWDC), querying the expenditure of N943 million on board allowances and expressing concern over the absence of executive directors.
The issues were raised on Tuesday during an investigative hearing involving officials of the commission and the federal ministry of regional development.
Lawmakers said the commission’s administrative challenges and governance lapses were undermining its mandate to address insecurity and infrastructure deficits in the north-west.
Uba Ahmadu, minister of state for regional development, told the committee that the ministry had intervened in the lingering dispute over the commission’s office accommodation in Kano.
He said the NWDC initially operated from offices donated by private organisations before disagreements over which facility should serve as its headquarters created friction between the board and management.
According to Ahmadu, the Kano state government has now provided a fully furnished office complex, operational vehicles and a parcel of land for the commission.
He said the ministry, board and management formally took over the facility last week and directed that all alternative offices be shut to bring the controversy to an end.
“The North West Development Commission is the only commission that does not yet have executive directors,” Ahmadu said.
“Every other regional commission has its full management structure in place. Something urgent must be done for the commission to function effectively.”
The minister said the absence of executive directors has weakened the commission’s management structure since its inauguration in February 2025.
He added that although the board was inaugurated to prevent delays in take-off, the commission had continued to face operational challenges.
Ahmadu compared the situation in Kano with arrangements in other regions, noting that state governments in Enugu, Oyo and Nasarawa had provided office accommodation for their respective regional commissions without controversy.
He said the expectation was that Kano would do same and that the latest intervention should finally resolve the office dispute.
SENATORS QUERY N943M BOARD ALLOWANCES
The committee also scrutinised the commission’s financial records, board activities and implementation of its budget.
Lawmakers questioned how the board could claim to have no cash backing while still undertaking official visits to governors and other stakeholders.
The committee was particularly alarmed by documents showing that out of N1.19 billion spent by the commission, N943 million was paid as allowances to members of the governing board.
Lawmakers described the expenditure — representing nearly 79 percent of the amount spent under the subhead — as disturbing and inconsistent with the commission’s development mandate.
They also criticised delays in staff recruitment and the implementation of the commission’s capital budget despite approvals reportedly granted since February.
Several senators said the ministry should take responsibility for the failure to complete the commission’s management structure, especially the appointment of executive directors.
BOARD CHAIRMAN DEFENDS EXPENDITURE
Abdullahi Lawal, chairman of the NWDC governing board, defended the board’s activities, saying they were carried out in line with the North West Development Commission Act, 2024.
He said the board has held seven meetings — five regular and two emergency sessions — and adopted 63 resolutions aimed at establishing the commission’s institutional, operational and budgetary framework.
According to him, the board approved standing orders, operational guidelines, committee structures, budget frameworks and fund allocation principles for the seven north-west states.
Lawal said committee activities and sitting allowances were legitimate governance expenses permitted under the commission’s establishing law.
He, however, distinguished between approving expenditure and disbursing funds.
Lawal said while the board approves governance frameworks and expenditure, responsibility for processing payments rests with the commission’s management, particularly the managing director and finance officials.