The Senate has approved a budget of N140 billion for the North Central Development Commission, with a strong warning that the funds must be used strictly for the benefit of the region. The approval came on Tuesday after the commission’s Managing Director, Tsenyil Yiltsen, appeared before the Senate committee chaired by Senator Titus Zam to defend the 2025 appropriation.
Announcing the endorsement, Zam said, “After a careful look at the issues contained in the budget and the eloquent presentation by the MD and his team, the committee has approved the budget of N140bn as presented by the Commission.”
Yiltsen explained that the Federal Government allocated N140 billion to the commission for the fiscal year. He said that N100 billion is earmarked for capital projects across the six states in the North Central zone and the Federal Capital Territory, while N40 billion will cover recurrent expenditure, including overheads and personnel costs.
The senator stressed that the capital funds would be directed towards multiple interventions. “We have eight thematic areas in terms of infrastructure deployment which are security, agriculture, mining, environmental degradation, education, health, road construction etc,” he stated.
The Managing Director assured lawmakers that projects will be evenly distributed across the zone. “We will go out for proper needs assessment in all the states and will be fair in the distribution of these projects in all the six states and FCT,” he said.
Yiltsen also revealed that part of the recurrent allocation would be used to pay salaries for 200 new staff who will be recruited after approval by the Office of the Head of Service.
While commending the commission’s plans, the Senate panel urged the agency to deploy the funds prudently, particularly the N100 billion for capital projects. It also called on the six benefiting states and the FCT to provide office accommodation for the commission’s branches.