Tinubu appoints chairpersons for south-east, north-west development commissions

President Bola Tinubu has asked the senate to confirm Emeka Atuma and Lawal Samai’la Abdullahias as chairpersons of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) and North West Development Commission (NWDC), respectively.

In a list of nominees sent to the senate late in September, Tinubu nominated Haruna Ginsau as chairman of the NWDC board and Tijani Yahaya Kaura and Abdulkadir S. Usman as members.

However, in a statement on Friday, Bayo Onanuga, the presidential spokesperson, said the president has replaced them with Ja’afar Abubakar Sadeeq and Yahaya Aminu Abdulhadi as members of the board.

The presidential aide said Abdullahi Shehu Ma’aji retained his position as managing director and chief executive officer of the north-west commission.

“Other board members featured on the first list are Dr. Yahaya Umar Namahe, Yahaya Aminu Abdulhadi, and Engr. Muhammad Ali Wudil; Shamsu Sule, Nasidi Ali, and Aminu Suleiman,” the statement reads.

“After receiving the resident’s first list of nominations, the senate adjusted the NWDC’s establishment act to accommodate members from other geo-political zones.

“President Tinubu complied with the adjustment in the new list, with the following named to represent the six zones:

“They are Chukwu Chijioke, Ahmed Mohammed, Engr. Ahmed Rufai Timasaniyu, and Macdonalds Michael Uyi. Others are Yemi Ola and Hon. Babatunde Dada.”

Onanuga said other members of the south-east commission are Ugochukwu Agballah, Okey Ezenwa, Hyacinth Ikpor, Donatus Eyinnah Nwankpa, Ifeanyi Agwu, Nasiru Usman, and Hamma Adama Ali Kumo.

“The additional nominees are Edward David Onoja, Orure Kufre Inima, and Chief (Mrs.) Joke Adebayo-Chukwuma.
Prince Obinna Obiekweihe, Executive Director (Projects); Sen. Anthony O. Agbo, Executive Director, Finance and Administration; and Dr. Daniel Ikechukwu Ugwuja, Executive Director (Corporate Services), were also nominated,” he said.

The presidential aide said Tinubu is committed to regional development and expects “to actualise the mandates of the two commissions and develop their regions”.