Lawmakers push for Northwest Development Commission

…bill scales first reading at Senate

A bill seeking the establishment of the North West Development Commission (NWDC) that will receive and manage funds for the agricultural and industrial development of the northwest geopolitical zone has passed its first reading in the Senate.

The commission when established will formulate policies and guidelines for the development of the northwest in the areas of roads, education, health, employment, industrialisation, agriculture, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity, and commerce.

The bill titled, North West Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023 is sponsored by Barau Jibrin, the deputy president of the Senate. Chinedu Akabueze, the clerk to the Senate, read the short title of the bill during the plenary session on Tuesday.

Jibrin also informed that the commission when established would accelerate the development of the commercial and industrial potential of the northwest geopolitical zone, comprising seven states – Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara.

“The NWDC when established will receive and manage funds for the agricultural and industrial development of the northwest geopolitical zone.

“In the last ten years, states in the northwest geopolitical zone, especially Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara have been battling with security challenges, thereby retarding their development” he explained.

The bill would be listed for a second reading for deliberation on its general merits and principles.